One of Joe Biden's accusers says she supports him as the 'obvious choice' to defeat Donald Trump

• Amy Lappos, a former congressional aide who accused Democratic candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden of inappropriate physical contact, said in an interview with Hearst Connecticut Media that he is still the "obvious choice" for president.
• "Did I want to end up with Joe Biden, two white males in the election? Not really," she told the outlet. "However, Joe Biden is the obvious choice to beat [President Donald] Trump right now and therefore, I support him."
• Lappos, along with seven other women, have alleged that Biden either touched them inappropriately or violated their personal space in a way that made them uncomfortable.
• Lappos said she received pushback for coming forward, but said she hopes her story reiterates a message about "bodily autonomy and survivorship."
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Amy Lappos, a former congressional aide who accused Democratic candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden of inappropriate physical contact, said in an interview with Hearst Connecticut Media that he is still the "obvious choice" for president.

Lappos, 44, accused Biden of touching her inappropriately at a political fundraiser in 2009.

"It wasn't sexual, but he did grab me by the head," Lappos said to The Hartford Courant last year of the interaction. "He put his hand around my neck and pulled me in to rub noses with me. When he was pulling me in, I thought he was going to kiss me on the mouth." She did not file a complaint at the time.

Lappos stressed that his actions crossed a line and should not be considered "grandfatherly", as some of his supporters have defended.

"There's absolutely a line of decency," Lappos said to The Courant. "There's a line of respect. Crossing that line is not grandfatherly. It's not cultural. It's not affection. It's sexism or misogyny."

Speaking to Hearst Connecticut Media in an interview published Saturday, Lappos said that although the Democratic nominee is not as "progressive" as she would have hoped, she will still support Biden in November.

"Did I want to end up with Joe Biden, two white males in the election? Not really. I don't see it being so progressive," Lappos told the outlet.

"However, Joe Biden is the obvious choice to beat [President Donald] Trump right now and therefore, I support him," she added.

Lappos, along with seven other women, have alleged that Biden either touched them inappropriately or violated their personal space. One former Biden staffer, Tara Reade, alleged that Biden sexually assaulted her in 1993, which Biden has denied.

Lappos told Hearst Connecticut Media that she "believes and supports" Reade, and said that she received criticism for coming forward with allegations against Biden.

"I wasn't expecting the amount of push back that I got — push back, from primarily older male Democrats," Lappos told the outlet.

She said she hopes her story reiterates a message about "bodily autonomy and survivorship."

"I wanted to make sure that that story is preserved," Lappos said. "And I don't want to be weaponized. I support Joe Biden right now."

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