Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) displayed a different side of herself during a town hall event in Marion, Iowa, on Sunday, battling through tears as she embraced a young supporter who asked the presidential hopeful how she dealt with a lack of acceptance.
Warren held the town hall event in Marion over the weekend and took a question from Raelyn, a 17-year-old supporter, who broke into tears as she asked the senator if there was ever a time when someone in her life did not accept her.
“I was wondering if there was ever a time in your life where somebody you really looked up to maybe didn’t accept you as much,” Raelyn, who ABC News described as a “member of the LGBT community,” said as she began to cry. “And how you dealt with that?”
Warren used the opportunity to talk about her divorce from her first husband, Jim Warren, and the rift it caused between her and her mother.
“Yeah. My mother and I had very different views of how to build a future. She wanted me to marry well, and I really tried and it just didn’t work out,” Warren said.
“And there came a day when I had to call her and say, ‘This is over. I can’t make it work.’ And, uh, I heard the disappointment in her voice. I knew how she felt about it,” she continued with a shaky voice.
“But I also know it was the right thing to do. And sometimes you just gotta do what’s right inside and hope that maybe the rest of the world will come around to it,” Warren added, her voice still on the verge of tears.
“And maybe they will and maybe they won’t. But the truth is, you gotta take care of yourself first and do this,” she said, asking the girl to give her a hug.
Warren shared a clip of the emotional moment on social media:
Raelyn told ABC News that she was inspired to ask Warren the question after having conversations with family members over the holiday. She also told the outlet that she plans to be a precinct captain for Warren. It will be the first time she will be able to vote, given her young age.
“What got me involved with her was her care for the LGBTQ community. And it’s been a struggle with that, with people close to me,” Raelyn said, according to ABC News.
“And I just — she’s just, she gives me hope, which is not something that I’ve really had with other politicians, and I’ve followed politics for a while,” she continued, emphasizing her belief that Warren “cares about the people she talks about” and “actually genuinely cares about what she’s saying.”
Warren’s sweep through Iowa follows her battle to regain her lead in the Hawkeye State. The current RealClearPolitics average shows the presidential hopeful neck and neck with Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) for second place, while Mayor Pete Buttigieg (D) remains the clear front-runner.