Rep. Sarah McBride Says Attacks on Her Gender Identity Show Jealousy of 'Bullies': 'Hurt People Hurt People' (Exclusive)

Rep. Sarah McBride refuses to fto disapproval bog her down.

The Delaware congresswoman made history successful November 2024 erstwhile she became nan first openly transgender personification elected to nan House of Representatives. However, her boundary-breaking triumph besides came pinch hate, favoritism and deliberate misgendering by critics and colleagues.

McBride, whose trailblazing run is nan taxable of nan caller documentary State of Firsts, which premiered June 7 astatine nan Tribeca Festival and will surface done June 11, tells PEOPLE that "it's not ever easy" to look nan critics. "It is difficult and it gets to me," she says, adding, "I'm not caller to hate."

"Every occupation I've ever had, I've had decease threats," says McBride, who was a authorities legislator and governmental advocator anterior to joining Congress. "I'm not caller to emotion retired location and vulnerable."

The measurement McBride sees it, attacks connected her gender personality aren't really astir her.

"When group effort to diminish maine aliases impugn my dignity, it says a batch much astir them than it does me," she says. "I genuinely judge that wounded group wounded people."

Since her first word successful Congress began successful January, McBride has been targeted by a bathroom bill from Rep. Nancy Mace aliases South Carolina — which bans transgender group from utilizing restrooms that don't correspond pinch their activity astatine commencement — and was intentionally and many times misgendered by Texas Rep. Keith Self during a hearing.

Both moments are included successful State of Firsts, which features a clip of Mace responding to a newsman who asks if her bath solution is linked to McBride's presence successful Congress.

"Yes, and perfectly and past some," Mace replies.

McBride says successful nan documentary that she didn't recognize nan bath rumor would rustle up, but soon realized, "There will beryllium members who will face maine successful nan women's restroom to person a viral moment."

She adds that she knew she would beryllium targeted much arsenic her run progressed, and erstwhile Republicans maintained power of nan House aft nan 2024 election, she started to think, "They're going to effort to prohibition maine from nan restroom."

While speaking pinch PEOPLE, McBride says she's undeterred by specified attacks.

"Everyone deals pinch thing astir themselves that nine tells them they should beryllium ashamed of aliases that they should hide," she says. "The point astir truthful galore of america who unrecorded openly and authentically is we person taken that point that nine has told america we should hide, and we've not only accepted it, but successful galore cases we are stepping guardant from a spot of pridefulness successful it."

That confidence, McBride says, is thing her critics want for themselves.

"The bullies spot that power, they spot that individual agency successful conquering our ain fears and our ain insecurities, and they're suspicious of it," McBride tells PEOPLE. "I americium reminded successful those moments that I americium powerful conscionable by being."

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The congresswoman moreover has benignant words for her detractors, sharing a hopeful connection for nan group who've travel aft her.

"I dream that those who are not summoning nan champion versions of themselves, that they find healing, that they find courage, that they find love, and that they find a location wrong themselves and successful this world that they truthful intelligibly yearn for," she says.

State of Firsts director Chase Joynt filmed McBride successful nan days before, during and aft her historical campaign, capturing highs for illustration nan nighttime she won her election, but besides difficult moments for illustration blatant disrespect from her colleagues successful Washington and backlash from nan trans organization erstwhile she agreed to travel nan Capitol's bath policy.

In a connection included successful nan State of Firsts' property notes, Joynt said, "We could not person anticipated nan unit pinch which Sarah herself would go nan cardinal target of transphobic assaults successful nan emergence of Trump’s 2nd presidency."

McBride, who precocious marked 100 days successful office, tells PEOPLE that contempt nan hurdles she faced successful nan first fewer weeks and months arsenic a Congresswoman, she's "confident" and "determined" — and her bullies person "moved on."

"They realized that I'm not gonna play their game," she says.