Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff is ready to fight for Vice President Harris.
Since his wife became the expected Democratic nominee for president this week, Emhoff has challenged his opponent, former President Trump, over attacks against Harris, building on previous criticism in which Emhoff called the GOP nominee a “ known anti-Semitic” and “toxic”.
Harris’ allies are eager to see Emhoff, who is known as a strong supporter of his wife, kick off the campaign and be used as a secret weapon to support her historic trajectory.
In a first look at how Emhoff might handle Trump’s criticism of Harris, the second gentleman told reporters traveling with him to Virginia on Tuesday: “Is that all he’s got?”
“You heard the vice president yesterday present the case against Donald Trump very clearly. He stated the case directly and convincingly. But she also presented a vision for the future, a vision where there is freedom, where we don’t have to talk about these issues of today in this post-Dobbs hellscape that Donald Trump has created,” Emhoff said.
The Virginia stop came just as Emhoff, like the rest of the Harris campaign, began running on the trail.
He was with Harris to introduce her at campaign headquarters in Wilmington on Monday, visited Virginia on Tuesday to go to a reproductive health center and is scheduled to travel to Wisconsin on Saturday to headline a launch of campaign for Harris and the Democrats in the elections. .
Allies say that everything indicates the close relationship between the two.
“Mr. Emhoff and Vice President Harris are true partners in every sense of the word. Your support for the Vice President fuels the fight for gender equality in a way that will shape generations to come. The Second Gentleman is a significant asset for the campaign — and that’s why we’re seeing him move forward and galvanize people across the country,” said Rachel Palermo, who served as Harris’ deputy communications director and associate White House counsel.
A former Senate aide to Harris also praised Emhoff’s personality, which could be key to getting voters’ attention.
“The Second Gentleman has always been incredibly supportive of VP Harris. Not just as a sounding board for her, but as a person because he’s so funny and brilliant to talk to. His background will certainly be an asset to her campaign as she seeks to unite people across the country,” said the former Senate aide.
Trump has dubbed Harris “Laughing Kamala” and “Lying Kamala” since she entered the presidential race after President Biden dropped out on Sunday amid growing pressure to step aside or risk losing the election.
Harris quickly rallied her party around her — accelerated by endorsements from Biden and former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) — and quickly won the support of enough delegates to secure the nomination before the Democrats’ convention in August.
She has also hit the ground running, making stops in Texas, Indiana and Wisconsin since Tuesday and testing her messaging and strategies for her campaign.
Although Harris is clearly front and center, Seth Schuster, national spokesman for Harris’ campaign, called Emhoff “the vice president’s biggest supporter on and off the track” and said he will be “a vigorous and active activist ” leading into the November elections.
Emhoff’s rebuttal of Trump’s attacks on his wife this week is not the first time he has taken on the former president.
In March, Emhoff, who is Jewish, said Trump should be “condemned” for his interview with conservative radio host Sebastian Gorka, where he said Democrats “hate Israel” and that Jewish voters who support Democrats hate theirs. religion.
“This is a disgusting and toxic anti-Semitic thing to say, by anyone, let alone a former president of the United States, and it must be condemned,” Emhoff said.
When Trump shared a video on social media referencing a “unified Reich” in May, Emhoff said: “The last person I will take advice from as a Jew is a known anti-Semite, who has dined with anti-Semites, who said there there were good people on both sides after Charlottesville.”
But Emhoff has a very different side beyond the attack dog role — he’s also the “good guy.”
In addition to his work for the administration, Emhoff’s time in Washington was spent doing normal activities around town, such as baseball games and visits to coffee shops and breweries.
He also spent his time having moments of friendship with Chasten, husband of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, small talk with celebrities outside the White House, cheering on the US women’s team at the World Cup in New Zealand and visiting US women’s basketball practice ahead of the Paris Olympics.
“I think he brings a warmth and a friendliness that really complements her, and I think all of those things will make him a huge asset in the campaign,” said Katherine Sibley, a history professor at St. Emhoff.
Emhoff forged his own path as second gentleman when he took on the role of first to do so. He taught at Georgetown University Law Center as a distinguished visitor after leaving his law firm, DLA Piper, in August 2020, when Harris was running against Biden. He was a partner in the firm’s Los Angeles office and specialized in media, sports and entertainment, and intellectual property.
Political observers see him stepping away from his law firm job and supporting Harris as another plus for her in the campaign that highlights her strong marriage.
“In any good marriage, you balance that and help each other, and that’s what people should infer from that as well,” said Anita McBride, former chief of staff to first lady Laura Bush. “The strength of a marriage, how does that help? This helps a lot.”
Meanwhile, Republicans are navigating how to criticize Harris, with GOP leaders notably warning colleagues to pull back on using diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policy to do so.
That didn’t help matters recently when a 2021 clip resurfaced of Trump’s running mate, Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio), who at the time called Harris and other politicians “childless hot ladies” despite her being his sons’ stepmother. Emhoff’s two children. children.
Emhoff’s role in Harris’ life will also be compared to that of Trump’s wife, former first lady Melania Trump, and her role. Melania Trump went to the Republican National Convention to watch the former president’s speech on the last day, but otherwise was almost completely absent from the campaign.
Sibley expects Emhoff to be the opposite of Harris.
“For her to come to the convention and barely make a sound there,” Sibley said of Melania Trump. “It’s very different, I don’t think we’ll see that with Doug Emhoff. I can’t imagine he won’t speak at the convention, it would be shocking.”
This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story
