Emhoff gave a speech at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago that revealed the human side of the party’s presidential nominee.
Delegates chanted “Doug” as the 59-year-old, who gave up a burgeoning legal career to support Ms. Harris as vice president, told them the story of how they met and how she later became stepmother to his children.
“I love you and I’m so proud of the way you stand up for all of us,” Emhoff said.
According to him, their personal history shows that she is ready to become the first female head of the country’s armed forces, and he would become the first first lord in history.
“Kamala Harris was exactly the right person for an important time in my life. At this moment in the nation’s history, she is the most suitable president,” he said.
Harris posted a photo of herself watching his speech on Air Force Two on her way back from a rally in Milwaukee. “Love you Doug,” she wrote.
“Hey, it’s Doug”
The Harris campaign sees Emhoff as something of a secret weapon, a well-prepared speaker who can introduce Americans to the vice president after her rapid rise after President Joe Biden withdrew from the race for the White House.
He has taken on a highly visible role as a top supporter of his wife of 59 years since Mr. Biden first tapped her as his running mate in 2020.
The father-of-two has recently become her “watchdog” against Donald Trump after the former Republican president began hurling personal and racist insults at the Democrat.
But his speech in Chicago focused not only on the political, but also on the personal.
As the crowd waved “Doug” signs, Emhoff told the story of how he and Harris were set up on a blind date by one of his legal clients.
Early the next morning, Emhoff called Harris, but the answering machine answered, and he began mumbling into the receiver, “Yeeee, this is Doug… I’m trying to catch the words in the air and put them back in my mouth.”
But Ms Harris thought the message was “adorable” and saved it, and they married the following year. Now she plays this message for him every anniversary, he said. – “This Thursday will be our tenth wedding anniversary…the same evening I will hear my wife Kamala Harris accept your nomination for President of the United States.”
“Dry”
After their marriage, Ms. Harris became stepmother to Mr. Emhoff’s then-teenage children, Cole and Ella, who both called her “Mamala.”
Cole Emhoff introduced his father on stage after commenting on a video that showed footage from Emhoff’s life and making light-hearted jokes about him.
Their “blended family wasn’t used to politics,” the son said, but when Harris became first a California senator and then vice president, they all got involved. – “Doug seemed a little out of place on Capitol Hill, thinking ‘what is my crazy dad doing here?’ But he took it all in.”
Emhoff himself admitted that it wasn’t all easy, especially when he quit his $1 million entertainment lawyer job. dollars per year.
Mr. Biden supported him at the time, saying, “I know it must have been difficult.”
Since then, Kamala has called Emhoff her pillar as she became the first female, black, and South Asian vice president of the United States. He also became the first Jewish spouse of a US vice president or president in history.
Emhoff has taken on increasingly prominent roles under the Biden administration, delivering speeches denouncing anti-Semitism after the October 7 Hamas attacks on Israel.
He has also taken on formal duties, including leading the US delegation to the closing ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics.
However, D. Emhoff does not give up on at least one person. “My mother is the only person in the whole world who thinks Kamala here is lucky to marry me,” he quipped.
2024-08-21 19:45:34