A Biden acolyte, on the cusp of history

Oct 11, 2024

By Ben Johansen, Eli Stokols and Lauren Egan

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Fourteen years ago, the student body president at American University in Washington penned an op-ed in the student newspaper, The Eagle, titled, “The Real Me.” In that piece, SARAH McBRIDE came out as transgender. “Today is the next day of the life I’ve already had, but at the same time, the first day of the life I always knew I wanted to lead,” McBride wrote.

One of the first phone calls she received after coming out was from then-Delaware state Attorney General BEAU BIDEN, for whom McBride had worked in his 2006 campaign and 2010 reelection bid and would stay in close contact until his passing in 2015.

Just a month ago, McBride, now a state senator from Delaware, won the Democratic primary for the open congressional seat left by LISA BLUNT ROCHESTER, who is all but certain to take retiring Sen. TOM CARPER’s seat in the upper chamber. McBride’s win in November would make her the first openly transgender member of Congress.

But at the same time McBride is set to make history, DONALD TRUMP and other Republicans are running TV ads in the final weeks of the closely contested presidential election highlighting KAMALA HARRIS’ support for transgender rights, which they believe could turn off some swing voters.

West Wing Playbook called up McBride to discuss her relationship with the Bidens, as well as President JOE BIDEN ’s record on and the broader political battle around LGBTQ+ rights. This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

You’re likely going to be the first transgender person elected to Congress, come January. Do you feel a sense of responsibility?

I'm not running to be the spokesperson for any individual movement. I'm not running to be known just for my identity. I'm running to be the best member of Congress that I can be. I'm running to be Delaware’s lone member of the House working on all of the issues that matter to the people that I'm seeking to represent.

I want to talk about Beau Biden. In 2012, after you came out, he called you. What did he say?

What has stuck with me about that conversation was that he didn't skip a beat. He called me by my name without any hesitation, in a way that just was so natural and not reflective of the newness of it for everyone. He was in the car with Hallie [Biden], because I remember hearing her voice in the background and Beau saying that they both loved me and that they were here for me. He said that I'm still a part of the Biden family.

After you won the primary last month, the president called to congratulate you. In your 2018 book, you called him your ‘political idol.’ You also worked for then-second lady Jill Biden at the White House. What has their support throughout these past years meant to you?

There's no question that the love and the support that I've received from the Biden family over the last two decades is a big reason why I'm here today.

But it's also not surprising. That is who the Bidens are. When Joe Biden talks about looking out for other people's families like he does his own, it's because for the Bidens, community is family.

Getting that call from the president was one of the most meaningful and moving calls that I've ever received in my life.

What’d he say?

The first thing he said was that he had a message from heaven, and that Beau is so proud.

We talked about how when both of us are facing hard decisions, we perpetually ask ourselves, ‘What would Beau do?’ And he very generously said that one of the reasons why he'll be sad to leave office in January is that he won't be president at the same time that I'm in Congress.

What has his record on LGBTQ+ rights meant for the community? What does his legacy look like?

There are so many Americans who, during the last four years, unlike the previous four years, knew that our president saw them and respected them. Joe Biden from day one of his administration has pushed forward LGBTQ+ inclusive policies.

But what I think is so important for people to remember is that LGBTQ+ people are people. They have to drive to work on good roads. They have to breathe air. They have to get good paying jobs. They serve their country and need veterans benefits. I am proud of the legacy of Joe Biden's administration. And I also am grateful for the historically patriotic and selfless decision that Joe Biden recently made to pass the baton to a new generation and help re-energize our party.

Republicans are going the other way on this issue and attacking Harris for supporting transgender rights, with heavy TV ad buys signaling that they think this issue may hurt her with swing voters. What do you make of that?

Time and time again, Republicans have tried unsuccessfully to distract voters from their inability to offer solutions to the most pressing issues by manufacturing culture wars against trans people and this is no different. They’ve tried it before and it didn’t work and now they’re trying it again.

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POTUS PUZZLER

In which state were the most presidents born?

(Answer at bottom.)

Photo of the Week

The northern lights blanket the U.S. Capitol and throughout the Washington area on Thursday night.

The northern lights blanket the U.S. Capitol and throughout the Washington area on Thursday night. | Courtesy of Jonah Bryson

CAMPAIGN HQ

DETROIT VS. EVERYBODY: Less than 24 hours after Donald Trump trashed Detroit, the Harris campaign is out with a new ad trashing him. The ad, which will air during Saturday’s Tigers’ playoff game and Sunday’s Lions game, features the voice of actor COURTNEY B. VANCE , a Detroit native and clips of Trump. “They said we were dead," Vance starts the video by saying. "That our best days were behind us … But you know what we said? We said f— that. We rebuilt ourselves … We don’t bow down to nobody. And we never will."

Let’s go, Gritty Tigs.

SO MUCH FOR MIDWESTERN NICE: Trump’s disparaging of Detroit, hardly out of character for a politician who has habitually stereotyped American cities as “rat-infested” (Baltimore), “horrible, disgusting” (Los Angeles) places, really upset Minnesota Gov. TIM WALZ , Harris’ running mate. Walz, who was about as upset as a turkey vulture alighting upon roadkill, immediately seized on the remarks during a speech in Warren, Michigan. “Maybe if he ever spent any time in the Midwest, he’d know Detroit is experiencing a great American comeback,” Walz said. “Crime is down. The city is growing. Factories are opening again. But all these guys know about manufacturing is how to manufacture bullshit.”

As our GAVIN BADE and MEREDITH LEE HILL report, the sharp rejoinder to Trump was part of an increasingly explicit appeal to blue collar workers in the state. Walz also attacked Trump over the manufacturing jobs lost in Michigan during his presidency.

STRIKE A POSE: Courtesy of celebrity photographer ANNIE LEIBOVITZ, Vice President Harris landed her second Vogue cover on Friday (a touch better than her 2021 cover), titled: “The Candidate For Our Times.” In an interview with the magazine’s NATHAN HELLER, Harris said if she wins, that her first call — outside of her family — would be to “the team that is working with me on our plan to lower costs for the American people.”

We’ll have to see if the vice president can break the curse of having their lives turned upside down after a Leibovitz photoshoot (cc JILL BIDEN and BETO O’ROURKE).

A NEED FOR SPEED: Even with economists crediting the Biden-Harris administration for an economy that’s leading the world, the vice president isn’t running on what they’ve done. As our VICTORIA GUIDA writes, that’s because investments in a new green industrial policy have yet to truly bear fruit — and that voters just want help lowering costs and they want it now.

Harris aides conceded the point, noting that she has talked about efforts to boost manufacturing that would pay longer term dividends, although most of her focus has been on immediate fixes: tax breaks for families and startups, down payment assistance, penalties for grocery stores that engage in price gouging. “If I’m not focused on bringing down your prices, you don’t want to hear step 2 or step 3,” a Harris adviser told Victoria.

IT’S A COIN FLIP: A new Wall Street Journal poll of voters in seven battleground states view Donald Trump as better equipped to handle the issues voters care most about — the economy and border security — but are torn on the horserace, our ANDREW HOWARD reports. Across the full set of 4,200 swing voters, Trump gets 46 percent support and Harris draws 45 percent.

WON'T BE DISTRACTED: Second gentleman DOUG EMHOFF dismissed scrutiny of his past relationships and crude comments about the vice president as “distractions” in an interview on Friday, our ADAM CANCRYN reports . “We don’t have time to be pissed off, we don’t have time to focus on it,” Emhoff said in excerpts of an interview on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.” “It’s all a distraction. It’s designed to try to get us off our game.”

Emhoff did not directly address the Daily Mail story published earlier this month alleging that he struck his then-girlfriend in public in 2012 — though the Harris campaign has denied the incident.

WHAT WILMINGTON WANTS YOU TO WATCH: This interview with JD VANCE, who is asked five times by NYT’s LULU GARCIA-NAVARRO whether Donald Trump lost the 2020 election. Vance, at every ask, refused to acknowledge that Trump lost. “There’s an obsession here with focusing on 2020,” Vance said. “I’m much more worried about what happened after 2020, which is a wide-open border, groceries that are unaffordable.”

“Senator, yes or no. Did Donald Trump lose the 2020 election?” Garcia-Navarro asked, before Vance deflected.

Campaign director of rapid response AMMAR MOUSSA and campaign spokesperson JAMES SINGER shared the interview on X.

WHAT WILMINGTON DOESN’T WANT YOU TO READ: This piece by TNR’s GREG SARGENT , who reports that some Democratic insiders are raising concerns over the strategic decisions being made by Future Forward, the biggest super PAC supporting Kamala Harris. Numerous Democrats from other party-aligned organizations fear that the PAC has done too little to reach low engagement non-white voters, both by failing to put enough resources into digital advertising — as opposed to traditional TV ads — and by being slow to share resources with groups looking to mobilize these voters. “Democrats familiar with internal party communications say that the PAC — which is widely viewed as a conduit for powerful White House adviser ANITA DUNN to exercise influence over party messaging and resources — is operating from too traditional a mindset,” Sargent writes.

AT LEAST IT’S NOT “FIGHT SONG”: JON BON JOVI announced his support for the Harris-Walz ticket with the release of a new song, “The People’s House,” featuring country duo The War and Treaty. In a post on X , the musician shared the music video and wrote that the song “celebrates this beautiful place that we call home, from sea to shining sea.”

“The truth matters. And the truth is on election day I’ll be voting for @KamalaHarris and @Tim_Walz because I believe in the power of we, not of me. I’ve written a song reminding us that out of many, we are still one.”

The Oval

HEY, RON! As Florida recovers from Hurricane Milton, President Biden will travel to the state Sunday to visit areas damaged from the storm, our ANDREW ATTERBURY reports. The White House did not provide any detail on whether the president will meet with Gov. RON DeSANTIS during his trip. It’s the second time the president has visited the state in the past 10 days.

On Friday afternoon, the president gave an update on the government’s hurricane response, in which he continued to shoot down misinformation about the storm recovery, calling it “disgusting.”

“You hear this malarkey from some of these people … I don’t want to get into it, I’ll lose my temper,” Biden said before stopping himself.

TAKE HER WORD FOR IT: If you haven’t bought the over-the-top praise from Biden-turned-Harris campaign staffers about how amazing it is to live in Wilmington, then maybe actress AUBREY PLAZA can convince you that the sleepy Delaware town shouldn’t be overlooked. In an interview with the NYT , Plaza laid it on thick, describing her hometown as “this magical little gem in the country, this little secret” that punches well above its weight. “It’s got a small-town vibe, but it has every kind of neighborhood and community in the tiniest concentrated city,” she said.

NYT’s STEVEN KURUTZ describes Plaza as “an enthusiastically earnest tour guide” once she gets going about Wilmington. And as it turns out, she likes a lot of the same spots as Harris staffers. Her favorite local cafe is Brew HaHa! She visits Trolley Square every time she’s in town. And her neighborhood pub is Dead Presidents.

Plaza, whose feelings on The Charcoal Pit remain unknown, lives in Los Angeles.

THE BUREAUCRATS

PERSONNEL MOVES: GEORGE SALMOIRAGHI is now director of cybersecurity planning and operations at the Office of the National Cyber Director at the White House. He most recently was senior policy adviser at the Treasury Department.

— SEBRINA BLAKE is now chief information officer at the Office of Management and Budget. She most recently was IT director for the Presidential Transition Team at GSA.

Agenda Setting

WAITING TO SEE…IF IT’S WW3: Iran’s government is “extremely nervous” as it awaits Israel’s response, engaging in urgent diplomatic efforts with other countries in the Middle East to gauge whether it can reduce the scale of Israel’s retaliation, CNN’s NATASHA BERTRAND, KYLIE ATWOOD, JENNIFER HANSLER and ALEX MARQUARDT report. The anxiety stems from uncertainty about whether the U.S. can convince Israel not to strike Iranian nuclear sites and facilities.

Iran is also concerned that Hezbollah, its most important proxy militia in the region, has been significantly weakened by Israeli military forces in recent weeks.

LENDING A HAND: The Biden administration unveiled a plan that would offer fresh financing to developing nations in need of cash, Bloomberg’s ERIC MARTIN reports. The proposal, announced by Treasury undersecretary for international affairs JAY SHAMBAUGH on Friday, is intended to assist countries “struggling under temporary financing challenges but for whom debt is sustainable over time.”

What We're Reading

These Rural Voters Picked Tim Walz Six Times. And They’re Done. (POLITICO’s David Siders)

Eight years ago, Trump vowed to ‘drain the swamp.’ Now he swims in it. (WaPo’s Isaac Stanley-Becker and Josh Dawsey)

I’m Running Out of Ways to Explain How Bad This Is (The Atlantic’s Charlie Warzel)

Inside ‘The Apprentice,’ the new Trump Movie Scaring Both MAGA and the Resistance (POLITICO’s Michael Schaffer)

POTUS PUZZLER ANSWER

Virginia tops the list, with eight former presidents hailing from the Old Dominion. Four of the first five — GEORGE WASHINGTON, THOMAS JEFFERSON, JAMES MADISON and JAMES MONROE — were all born in Virginia, as well as WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON, ZACHARY TAYLOR, JOHN TYLER and WOODROW WILSON.

A CALL OUT! Do you think you have a harder trivia question? Send us your best one about the presidents, with a citation or sourcing, and we may feature it!

Edited by Steve Shepard and Rishika Dugyala.

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