--- title: Joe Biden Fails Sensitivity Training on 'SNL' description: Following questions about his conduct around women, Joe Biden was subjected to sensitivity training in a 'Saturday Night Live' cold open. canonical: https://time.com/5565669/joe-biden-fails-sensitivity-training-on-saturday-night-live/ author: Alejandro de la Garza article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2019-04-07T17:58:40.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:58:32.930Z og:title: Joe Biden Fails Sensitivity Training on 'SNL' og:description: "I'm a hugger, I'm a kisser, and I'm a little bit of a sniffer." og:url: https://time.com/5565669/joe-biden-fails-sensitivity-training-on-saturday-night-live/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd5f128fb086f5565/698947e786f68e80986eba2b/joe-biden-snl-sensitivity-.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: Former Vice President Joe Biden Delivers Remarks At IBEW Conference og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Joe Biden Fails Sensitivity Training on 'SNL' twitter:description: "I'm a hugger, I'm a kisser, and I'm a little bit of a sniffer." twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd5f128fb086f5565/698947e786f68e80986eba2b/joe-biden-snl-sensitivity-.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Joe Biden Fails Sensitivity Training on 'Saturday Night Live' > Sponsored content. 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The Brief is available free at time.com/newsletters, where readers can select it along with any of TIME's other six newsletters. There is no subscription required to receive it. #### Is The Brief free? Yes. The Brief is a free daily email newsletter from TIME. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes The Brief? The Brief is led by editor Richard Hall and draws on reporting from TIME's newsroom. Every edition is assembled by TIME editors rather than generated automatically.  by [Alejandro de la Garza](https://time.com/author/alejandro-de-la-garza/)  ## Alejandro de la Garza Apr 7, 2019 5:58 PM UTC  Former Vice President Joe Biden speaks to the media at the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Construction and Maintenance conference on April 05, 2019 in Washington, DC. Former Vice President Joe Biden speaks to the media at the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Construction and Maintenance conference on April 05, 2019 in Washington, DC. Tasos Katopodis—Getty Images  by [Alejandro de la Garza](https://time.com/author/alejandro-de-la-garza/)  ## Alejandro de la Garza Apr 7, 2019 5:58 PM UTC In last night’s _Saturday Night Live_ cold open, Joe Biden was subjected to sensitivity training following public questions over his [conduct around women](http://time.com/5564857/joe-biden-appearance-women-behavior-complaints/). And it didn’t go so well. “I’m a tactile politician,” said returning _SNL_ cast memberJason Sudeikis, who reprised his role as Biden in the sketch. “I’m a hugger, I’m a kisser and I’m a little bit of a sniffer.” Biden has recently faced complaints from several women who say he made them uncomfortable with physical contact, including kissing them and smelling their hair. The former Vice President offered [an apology last week](http://time.com/5563770/joe-biden-women/), before [joking about consent](http://time.com/5564998/joe-biden-women-joke/) at a speech. In the _SNL_ sketch, Biden’s campaign staff brought in a consultant on sensitivity training, who Sudeikis-as-Biden promptly greeted with an intimate forehead-to-forehead gaze. The sketch also lobbed a few zingers at Biden’s potential election rival, President Trump. The President has been accused of sexual harassment or misconduct by at least [18 women](http://time.com/5058646/donald-trump-accusers/) and was caught on tape[bragging](http://time.com/4525282/hillary-clinton-donald-trump-poll-tape-leak/) that as a celebrity he could “grab” women by the genitals. “She’s looking for a candidate that can beat Donald Trump,” said the consultant, played by Kate McKinnon, referring to a Democratic voter. “You mean the guy who bragged about assault on tape?” said Bennett. “Yes, but unlike his voters, your voters actually care,” said Cecily Strong as a staffer. 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