The security guard captured praising Joe Biden in a now-viral video from an episode of the New York Times' "The Weekly" last December became the first person to officially nominate Biden at the Democratic convention Tuesday night.
Driving the news: Jacquelyn Brittany met Biden for the first time when she escorted him up to his interview with the Times editorial board before they made their public endorsement of a 2020 presidential candidate. "I love you,” she told Biden. “I do. You’re like my favorite.”
- Biden didn't receive the Times endorsement, which went to Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Elizabeth Warren.
- But he later dismissed the snub, saying, “I got something better. I got to meet Jacquelyn."
This beautiful moment between Biden and a security guard is why he will win.
— Lindy Li (@lindyli) January 20, 2020
The love that America has for Joe Biden is bigger than any New York Times endorsement.#TheWeeklyNYT #nytimesendorsement #Biden2020 pic.twitter.com/3biCVIXVyr
Why it matters: Nominating speeches typically go to elected officials, so it's groundbreaking to have someone like Jacquelyn fill that role.
- She's a Black woman and a working-class American, representing the exact type of voter that helped resurrect Biden's campaign and propel him to the nomination.
- She'll join Sen. Christopher Coons (D-Del.) and Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.) in delivering remarks ahead of the convention's roll call vote, according to the Post.
What they're saying: “He’s been through so much," she told the Post of Biden's personal loss. "And he doesn’t show it on the outside. He may feel it on the inside — and I’m that type of person."
- “I never thought I would be in a position to do this,” she said of her role at the convention. “I never thought I was worthy enough to do this.”
- “Once he came in, he was just genuinely, genuinely nice to people. We don’t get that from everybody,” she recalled of his time at the New York Times building.
