Carolyn Kaster/Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Joseph R. Biden Jr. came up in politics as an old-school backslapper whose greatest strength was his ability to connect. He doled out handshakes and hugs to friends and strangers alike, and his tendency to lavish his affections on women and girls was so central to his persona that it became fodder for late-night television jokes.
But the political ground has shifted under Mr. Biden, and his tactile style of retail politicking is no longer a laughing matter in the era of #MeToo. Now, as he considers a run for president, Mr. Biden is struggling to prevent a strength from turning into a crippling liability; on Tuesday alone, two more women told The New York Times that the former vice president’s touches made them uncomfortable.
For Mr. Biden, 76, the risks are obvious: the accusations feed into a narrative that he is a relic of the past, unsuited to represent his party in the modern era, against an incumbent president whose treatment of women should be a central line of attack. Mr. Biden has denied acting inappropriately but has said he will “listen respectfully.”
So far, no prominent Democrat has suggested he not run, and the women complaining about him have not claimed sexual harassment or assault. Other women have stepped forward to say Mr. Biden’s touches were welcome. But the accusations lodged against Mr. Biden have raised questions about when a “tactile politician” crosses the line into inappropriateness.
“I don’t think it’s disqualifying,” Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in an interview with Politico Playbook. But she added, “He has to understand in the world that we’re in now that people’s space is important to them, and what’s important is how they receive it and not necessarily how you intended it.”
Gloria Steinem, the feminist icon, said politicians needed to set parameters: “The way out is simple. Our bodies and voices belong to us — that should be the first step in democracy. Just ask before hugging.”
With a vibrant, youthful and multicultural field of candidates on the Democratic stage — and after a midterm election that swept dozens of women into Congress — Mr. Biden is already facing questions about whether this is the time for an older white man to carry his party’s banner into 2020. His handling of the 1991 confirmation hearings of Justice Clarence Thomas, who was accused of sexual harassment by the law professor Anita Hill, has also been the subject of scrutiny.
Now some analysts are envisioning President Trump — who admitted on videotape to grabbing women without their consent — tagging the former vice president with a nickname that has emerged on the internet: Creepy Uncle Joe. (A pro-Trump group, the Great America PAC, said Tuesday it would release a “Creepy Joe” Biden ad.)
“It opens the door for a discussion about whether Joe Biden can actually credibly take on Donald Trump on a series of issues that the Democratic Party is seen as quite strong on,” said Jennifer L. Lawless, an expert on women in politics at the University of Virginia.
The list of women coming forward is growing. Caitlyn Caruso, a former college student and sexual assault survivor, said Mr. Biden rested his hand on her thigh — even as she squirmed in her seat to show her discomfort — and hugged her “just a little bit too long” at an event on sexual assault at the University of Nevada at Las Vegas. She was 19.
Ms. Caruso, now 22, said she chalked up the encounter at the time to how men act, and did not say anything publicly. But she said it was particularly uncomfortable because she had just shared her own story of sexual assault and had expected Mr. Biden — an architect of the 1994 Violence Against Women Act — to understand the importance of…
