violence against this community, we will be prepared to act. from here, from the podium behind you, you regularly talk about instances where the lgbtqi plus community is being harmed in some way around the world. why is it important to you to do that? well, look, i recognize that every time i get mind that podium, i m not speaking for myself. i m not offering personal opinions. i m speaking on behalf of the united states government. i m speaking on behalf of the state department, president biden. i m speaking on behalf of this administration. but i also recognize there is important symbolism and meaning in having someone like me speaking on behalf of this government. i will tell you when my name was announced for this role, i heard from friends. i heard from many people i didn t know around the world. and, in fact, many of the people who flooded my twitter dms were members of the lgbtqi community
it s about the american people. it s about communicating and conveying what the president s priorities are, what it is he wants to do on behalf of the american people, talking to the press, that is here. also the people that are watching. doing it and leading with facts. being accurate and truthful. and that s what i was thinking about. how am i going to present this in a way that represents him well? and really, speaks directly to the american public. but there s another first. this is a true first. you re the first out lesbian and the first out queer woman to do this. what message does that send to the country? and to the lgbtq-plus community? i think if you look at the administration and less than 200
encan dorsing discrimination, persecution, violence, will be prepared to act. from here, from the podium behind you, you regularly talk about instances where the lgbtqi-plus community is being harmed in some way around the world. why is it important to do that? i recognize that i m not offering personal opinions. i m speaking on behalf of the united states government. i m speaking on behalf of the state department. i m speaking on behalf of president biden. i m speaking on behalf of this administration. i recognize there is important symbolism and meaning in having someone like me speaking on behalf of this government. i will tell you. when my name was announced for this role, i heard from friends and many people i didn t know around the world. and many of the people that
health, dr. rachel levine, the first transgender federal official confirmed by the senate. ned price, the first ever out state department spokesperson. and at the end of the hour, we ll meet reggie greer, the senior adviser of lgbtq issues in the white house. this is what it means to be seen and heard. biden appointees have influence over the direction. allies are invaluable. but the impact of policies on lgbtq lives is best understood within in the community. and those officials work more on what we consider traditional lgbtq issues. they re in health care, the epa and the small business administration. lgbtq people are at almost every table because we re impacted by
we have there, but to what they bring to the table. americans watching at home, especially young people. so brave. want you to know that the president has your back. why was it important for the president to not just show he supports the community through appointments but to use those words in such in his first big speech as president to the nation? these are words that we have never heard come out of a president s mouth specifically in an order like that one. we ve seen the violence against transgender people for years. we saw the violence against transjendzer immigrants coming into our country. and we ve seen transgender kids that don t have the support or don t have people telling them there is nothing wrong with you. you are beautiful and you are