It was an accidental viral moment for Joseph R. Biden Jr., at a time when his quest for the Democratic nomination seemed to be flagging. On his way to an interview last year with the editors of The New York Times, Mr. Bid himself into an elevator with Jacquelyn, a 31-year-old security guard who sadly admitted she was dead.
“I love you,” Jacquelyn told the former vice president. “I do. You’re like my favorite.” Mr. Biden, smiling, asked if she had a camera. The two posed for a selfie on their smartphone.
It was a cheerful exchange that was accidentally captured by a film crew for “The Weekly,” an FX show produced in collaboration with The Times. Mr Biden did not get the paper’s approval during the Democratic primary – that went to Senators Amy Klobuchar and Elizabeth Warren – but his easy rapport with Jacquelyn struck a chord on social media.
On Tuesday night, Jacquelyn, who told Biden employees, would refuse to make her last name public, making a more conscious appearance for a national TV audience. The Biden campaign selected her as the first person to name Mr. Bid for nomination for president at the Democratic National Convention. She will speak before the start of Tuesday’s vote.
It is an honor that fits in with some of the themes the Biden team would like to promote this week, including its support among working Americans, and Black women in particular. And her appearance nods to what advisers believe is Mr. Biden’s main political strength, a sense of empathy and comfort with Americans from many walks of life.
Jacquelyn is employed by The Times as a security guard. She has no role in the journalism of the newspaper as an editorial page, and she is not bound by rules that prohibit many of the company’s employees from engaging in political activity.
For Jacquelyn, Tuesday’s como will be the culmination of an unusual and unexpected role in a nationwide campaign.
“I never thought I could do this,” she told The Washington Post, which first reported on Tuesday about her role. “I never thought I was worthy enough to do this.”
