Rep. Sarah McBride rejects being seen as ‘walking trans flag’ in ‘State of Firsts’ doc

She made history as the first openly transgender member of Congress, and now a documentary is giving an inside look into the 2024 run that landed Rep. Sarah McBride (D-Del.) in the Capitol. 

“State of Firsts,” McBride told ITK, details the highs and lows of the campaign trail, but also “the nuances that come with not only running for office, serving in public office, but doing so as a first.”

“This is, as far as I can tell, the first time that someone has been a first, and the identity that makes them a first is at the center of national political debate, and the district that they’re representing is not significantly or predominantly made up of that same very identity,” McBride, 35, said.

Part of the “unbelievable challenge,” she said in the film of her House bid, was “figuring out how to ensure that I am seen as a whole human being rather than just a walking trans flag.”

“I’m proud of who I am and the journey that I’ve been on throughout my life toward a deeper authenticity and a living of my truth that guarantees that I have as few regrets at the end of my life as possible,” McBride said, “but I am also so much more than that one part of my journey.”

Her political opponents, she said, “try to paint me as a single-issue legislator or an activist who’s here just to work on one set of issues.”

“In the face of that, it’s incredibly important for me to be crystal clear that not only am I a whole person, but that my priorities reflect the priorities of my constituents.”

In the documentary, McBride opened up about defending herself against “mean and rude” jabs from some of her new colleagues after she was sworn in last year. Her job, she told the cameras, was “to not give them the response they want.”

“When people try to make me the issue, I am not going to take their bait,” McBride told ITK, calling them “very cynical ploys for attention.”

“Unfortunately, so often this place is defined by a politics of reality TV,” McBride said of Congress.

“And how do you get attention on a reality TV show? You throw wine in a person’s face. That gets a person a little bit of airtime.”

“But the way to get a season-long story arc is that the person who you threw wine in the face of responds by throwing wine back, because then you have a feud,” the........

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