Guard who met Biden in elevator delivers first nomination speech at DNC: 'He really saw me'

Jacquelyn Brittany first met Democratic Presidential nominee Joe Biden last year when he stepped into the elevator at the New York Times building where she works as a security guard. While she may have been an unlikely candidate to deliver the opening speech at the 2020 Democratic National Convention this week, that is exactly what she did. During their first chance encounter, she turned to him and said, "I love you. I do. You're like my favorite." On Tuesday night, she was able to share her love for the former Vice President with the rest of the country as she explained why voting for Biden was the right choice.

"I take powerful people up on my elevator all the time," she stated in a video that aired at the DNC. "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." Due to the ongoing pandemic, the convention is being held online for the first time in history, but Brittany's story was the compelling start the event needed. She continued, "That's because Joe Biden has room in his heart for more than just himself. We've been through a lot, and we have tough days ahead. But nominating someone like that to be in the White House is a good place to start. That's why I nominate my friend Joe Biden as the next president of the United States."

Biden did not end up winning the nomination from Brittany's employer, The New York Times, but he did claim that winning her nomination was the real achievement. Tweeting in January a video of the unlikely duo's exchange, he was incredibly proud to receive her nomination. The former Vice President affirmed, "Honored to have won Jacquelyn's endorsement." According to a tweet from Biden's national press secretary TJ Ducklo, he made mention of the security guard's nomination at a campaign stop in Waukee, Iowa, as well. "I didn't get the endorsement, but that's okay, I got something better," Ducko said Biden shared. "I got to meet Jacquelyn, an elevator operator. Jacquelyn said the nicest things to me and told me she was supporting me. And I left there thinking, 'This is why I do this. This is why I'm in public service. To care about people.'"

The Washington Post was the first to report Brittany's Biden nomination. She told the news outlet in an interview, "Once [Biden] came in, he was just genuinely, genuinely nice to people. We don't get that from everybody. I kept thinking to myself, this was a person I want to lead the country." Alongside Brittany's nomination, the Democratic nominee has received the endorsements of former Presidential mate Barack Obama, Hillary and Bill Clinton, Jimmy Carter, and former competitors Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, in addition to many more Democrats. The Democratic Party is rallying behind Biden, who is now the only shot at preventing incumbent President Donald Trump from serving a second term.