Biden may have later told reporters, "It wasn't my intent to make light of anyone's discomfort," but it's hard to interpret the comments as anything else. To that end, calling Biden's comments "jokes" feeds into the narrative that intent matters more than reception, and that what Biden meant to do holds more weight than the disrespect that the women felt they must bear.
Flores agrees; after news broke about Biden's comments, she tweeted, "To make light of something as serious as consent degrades the conversation women everywhere are courageously trying to have."
-- Ella Ceron, "JOE BIDEN TURNED WOMEN'S DISCOMFORT INTO A PUNCH LINE" (MTV NEWS).