Joe Biden Is Officially Nominated by Jacquelyn Brittany

For indispensable reporting on the coronavirus crisis and more, subscribe to Mother Jones’ newsletters.On Tuesday evening, Jacquelyn Brittany, a security guard at the New York Times, nominated Joe Biden at the Democratic National Convention.
“I take powerful people up in my elevator all the time,” Brittany said in her nomination message. “When they get off, they go to their important meetings. Me, I just head back to the lobby. But in the short time I spent with Joe Biden, I could tell he really saw me. That he actually cared. That my life meant something to him. And I knew, even when he went into his important meeting, he’d take my story in there with him.”

WATCH: Jacquelyn Brittany, a security guard at the New York Times, became the first person to officially nominate Joe Biden for president at the Democratic National Convention. pic.twitter.com/RhzVWYJGIU
— Mother Jones (@MotherJones) August 19, 2020

Brittany, a 31-year-old Black woman, met Biden in December when she escorted him to an interview at the Times as the paper’s editorial board was weighing its 2020 presidential endorsement. Biden didn’t get the Gray Lady’s endorsement, but he did get a viral video of Brittany exclaiming, “I love you,” and then, “I do. You’re like, my favorite.”

Biden’s interaction with a mailroom worker in the @nytimes elevator was honestly the highlight of the episode: pic.twitter.com/gocSQlOLXc
— Andrew Solender (@AndrewSolender) January 20, 2020

Brittany recently told the Washington Post that she had long admired Biden’s resilience: “He’s been through so much. And he doesn’t show it on the outside. He may feel it on the inside—and I’m that type of person,” she said. Brittany, who goes by her middle name to protect her privacy, added that she had had her own tribulations, including time in foster care.
Typically, high-profile elected officials make nominating speeches. Brittany told the Post, “I never thought I was worthy enough to do this.”

Jacquelyn: Your nomination means the world to me. Thank you — and I hope you know: we love you back. #DemConvention pic.twitter.com/BDS1HQAxhM
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) August 19, 2020