CNN
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In response to the volley of negative social media posts from former President Donald Trump aimed at his wife, Doug Emhoff avoided getting machismo or defensive.
“Is that all there is to him?” he said Tuesday in an attack on Vice President Kamala Harris, the presumptive new historic Democratic presidential nominee.
His response in that impromptu moment offered insight into the dynamic between Ms. Harris and Mr. Emhoff: The second gentleman is uniquely positioned to confidently support a woman vying for the position of the most powerful person in the country.
Over the past four years, Emhoff has grown accustomed to serving in a non-elected role as the first “second gentleman” with no manual and an automatic global platform. But with his wife’s rapid ascension to the nomination seat, Emhoff is now venturing into another first: the possibility of becoming first gentleman to the first female president.
And the second gentleman’s role is becoming clearer: Harris’ publicist, closest confidant, best surrogate and ally in amplifying her historic position and message on reproductive rights.
Emhoff, who was already active in the campaign, will continue to support Harris’ candidacy at campaign and fundraising events around the country in addition to his official duties, a spokesman for Emhoff told CNN.
“The Democratic presidential campaign is energized and they can’t afford to waste or lose a minute, so they’re going to put all their efforts into this, and he’s as important a representative as anybody else,” said Anita McBride, a former aide to former first lady Laura Bush.
Emhoff will be the headliner for first lady Jill Biden at three New England fundraisers scheduled for Yarmouth, Maine; Nantucket, Massachusetts; and Martha’s Vineyard, where he will appear in conversation with former late-night host David Letterman.
He is also expected to play a starring role at a rescheduled fundraiser for Jill Biden in Paris for Americans living abroad as he leads the U.S. delegation to the Olympic closing ceremony next month.
He is scheduled to make other campaign stops in the coming days and weeks, including in Wausau, Wisconsin, and Stevens Point on Saturday.
Harris campaign spokesman Seth Schuster added that Emhoff is “an energetic and aggressive campaigner who will speak directly to our coalition on the issues they care about most and mobilize the voters who will decide this election to ensure that Vice President Harris is President.”
Over the past three and a half years, Emhoff’s activism has focused on advocating for gender equality, fighting anti-Semitism, and promoting justice and equality in the legal system. He left a long and beloved career as a media, entertainment, and intellectual property lawyer to teach at Georgetown Law School. He has served as an emissary on international business trips and spent a significant amount of time on election campaigns. He is also the father of two adult children.
Emhoff has offered a preview of how he will approach the role in the coming months since President Joe Biden stepped aside from his reelection campaign to endorse Harris, and it’s an extension of the work he’s done so far that’s come under increased scrutiny.
On Tuesday, Emhoff appeared at a confirmation hearing that had been scheduled before the flurry of events that propelled his wife to the top of the list of potential candidates, and visited a reproductive health clinic in McLean, Virginia.
“It was important to me to be here today, I just wanted to get this on schedule,” he told fellow attendees, slamming what he called the “post-Dobbs hellscape” created by Donald Trump. He also spoke about the importance of women having access to abortions and the need for family planning resources for men, too.
And on Monday, he played cheerleader when introducing the vice president at campaign headquarters in Wilmington, Delaware.
“I support my wife, Kamala Harris, as she runs for president of the United States. I say this to you loud and clear: We are going to win this election,” Emhoff encouraged his wife, speaking to a welcoming crowd of staff. “We have a great team. You’ve done a great job, and you’re going to continue to do that and make sure we elect Kamala Harris as the next president of the United States.”
Emhoff also makes history as the first Jewish spouse of a president or vice president, and his efforts to combat anti-Semitism have taken on new urgency amid the ongoing conflict between Hamas and Israel, as he has served as one of the administration’s most vocal messengers on the issue, meeting with key stakeholders.
While Emhoff said it was “not what I expected” to do as vice president, he saw his role in strengthening the administration’s strategy to combat anti-Semitism as one of “responsibility” and “accountability.”
“I take that very seriously,” he said during a Yom Kippur conversation last year, calling on Jewish Americans to “be proud to be Jewish, and to rejoice in that, and to live openly and proudly.”
He will play a key role in shoring up her support in that coalition, and on Wednesday afternoon he participated in a Zoom call hosted by the Jewish Democratic Council of America and Jewish Women Supporting Kamala to try to clarify the vice president’s position on Israel.
“Let’s be clear: the vice president has been and will continue to strongly support Israel as a secure, democratic Jewish state and will always ensure that Israel can defend itself. That’s who Kamala Harris is,” Emhoff said.
As the husband of a presumptive presidential nominee, Emhoff is offering voters a modern model of what it means to be a husband in 2024.
“He’s a devoted man to his wife and he sticks to that,” said Capricia Marshall, who served as U.S. chief of protocol under Obama and as White House social counsel under Clinton.
“He doesn’t shy away from it, he embraces it, and that’s the magic of campaigning,” Marshall added.
While Emhoff supports his wife’s quest to make history as the first female president of the United States, he has also shared his own thoughts on masculinity and gender dynamics, saying in a 2022 interview with CNN’s Dana Bash that he is actively looking to eliminate prejudice regarding the role of a spouse.
“I’m here because I’m her husband. I’m here to support her,” he told Bash at the time. “I’m going to give a speech and one of the things I’m going to say is, ‘Men need to support women.’ First of all, if that’s the right thing to do, then we need to actually do it. … If I can set an example by doing that, I’d be very grateful.”
He added: “Masculinity is loving your family, caring for your family and serving your family.”
McBride said Emhoff will play a key role in showing voters that Harris has a personal backer behind her presidential effort.
“She is someone who is confident in who she is and what she has accomplished in life. Her role as a major party candidate is a special time in our lives as a couple,” she said.
Emhoff’s time as lieutenant governor could provide a blueprint for how he and his wife might approach the East Wing if elected.
“He’s been balancing his role as a supportive spouse and also assuming leadership of the presidential effort while maintaining his personal and professional role, so I think this gives us a pretty good idea of whether he’s going to transition into a precedent-setting role of first gentleman,” McBride said.
Emhoff, like his predecessor, Jill Biden, is already learning the fabric of the White House, how to live with a full-time security detail and how to navigate his ceremonial leadership role on the world stage.
If Harris wins in November, Emhoff will assume a role that includes a long tradition of entertaining crowds on the global stage and welcoming visitors to the People’s House.
Marshall, a former chief of protocol, told CNN that Emhoff could play a key role in the Harris administration’s foreign policy and help shape the White House.
“How we treat people, how we welcome them and how we show respect are powerful tools in our approach to international diplomacy. … I think President Harris will understand what she’s trying to accomplish, why it’s important and what we can add and accentuate with a new, more contemporary approach to hospitality,” Marshall said.
But above all, Marshall said his role is to support his wife through the challenges of being president of the United States.
“The role of this first gentleman is to be a supportive spouse and to understand better than anyone the goals of the administration and how best to achieve them,” she said.
CNN’s Arlette Saenz and Jeff Zeleny contributed to this report.
