In what appears to be an effort to revive his presidential campaign, former Vice President Joe Biden is touring Iowa, holding campaign rallies and town halls, and conversing with supporters and potential voters.
The Democrat kicked off the tour on Saturday, accompanied by his wife, Dr. Jill Biden. During one of the events, the former vice president nibbled on his wife’s finger, per The New York Post .
As the former second lady was introducing her husband to a crowd of supporters, she waved her hand, gesticulating toward him.
Waving her hand in the air, Jill appeared to point toward her husband. Biden first dodged his wife’s hand, but she waved it again, which prompted him to lean forward, and playfully nibble on her finger.
As the publication put it, “As Jill Biden flung an arm wide to make a point, her husband theatrically dodged her hand — then, on a second pass, gave her a playful chomp on her fingertip.”
The former second lady appeared to be amused by the move, and quickly continued her speech.
“She took the nibble in stride, laughing along with a crowd of about 200 supporters,” the NY Post continued, joking that Jill “must have looked good enough to eat.”
According to The Hill , Biden’s intense “No Malarkey” Iowa tour will last eight days, until December 7, and the former vice president will visit 18 counties.
“The plan is to meet as many caucus-goers as I can, and we’re going to cover a lot of ground to do it,” the former vice president said, explaining that his goal is to let the people of Iowa know how he plans on getting the United States “back on track,” and rebuilding the middle class.
Fired up and ready to go for the #NoMalarkey barnstorm! pic.twitter.com/4lpU7waqzh
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) November 30, 2019
As The Hill notes, although Biden still leads in national Democratic primary polls, observers have expressed skepticism about his campaign, pointing to missteps, gaffes, and the fact that donors appear to be abandoning the former vice president, who now trails several candidates by millions of dollars when it comes to cash on hand.
The Biden campaign appears to have acknowledged that the candidate’s victory is far from certain, maintaining, however, that victories in Iowa and New Hampshire are not necessary to win the nomination.
The campaign has suggested that the former vice president needs to put up a strong showing in the two early states in order to win Nevada and South Carolina, where he is still in first place in most polls.
According to polls, the Democratic primary is a three-way race between Biden, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren.