Since his wife is the Democratic candidate for the American presidential election and he could become “First Gentleman”, Douglas Emhoff is in the spotlight. An unwavering supporter of his wife, he takes a full part in her campaign.
Will Douglas Emhoff become the “First Gentleman” of the United States? He could well make history if Democratic candidate Kamala Harris wins the US presidential election on November 5. Married to the Vice President of the United States, he has already been the very first “second gentleman” in the history of his country since 2021.
As his partner entered the campaign, he was present on Tuesday, August 20 on the stage of the Democratic convention in Chicago and made a beautiful declaration to her: “I love you and I am so proud of the way you are committed to all of us.” “She will be a great president that we will all be proud of,” he added. This sequence shows that Douglas Emhoff is an unwavering supporter of his partner for whom he put his career aside when she was designated as Joe Biden’s running mate.
Born in 1964, just 7 days before Kamala Harris, in Brooklyn, Douglas Emhoff was an entertainment lawyer. Having worked for several firms in the 1990s, the man who will celebrate his 60th birthday in the fall created his first company in the early 2000s, which he bought in 2006. A partner in the largest law firm in Los Angeles, Douglas Emhoff took his leave when he arrived at the White House, where he was trained by Jill Biden, who was “second lady” for a long time when her husband was Barack Obama’s vice president. Douglas Emhoff then committed to equal access to justice but always refused the title of politician.
A committed and connected husband
Douglas Emhoff prefers golf to politics, he is also part of the Georgetown University Law Center where he can teach and give lectures, a way for him not to completely leave law. The “second gentleman” is also very active on social networks. On Instagram he feeds his two accounts, @douglasemhoff And @secondgentleman, and shows all his devotion to his fights for justice and equality but also to his wife and family. In his bio, we can also read: “Second Gentleman of the United States. Devoted father. Proud husband of Vice President Kamala Harris”, or again: “Defender of justice and equality”.
A few hours after the announcement of Joe Biden’s withdrawal from the race for re-election, Douglas Emhoff praised “a true patriot who leads our nation with honesty, decency and integrity”. And wanted to recall that the president and the First Lady “have fought tirelessly for families and communities, thus making their contribution to Americans across our country”.
A life before Kamala Harris
Before marrying the current Vice President of the United States, Douglas Emhoff was married for 16 years to American producer Kerstin Emhoff, with whom he divorced in 2008. Together they had two children: Cole, in 1994, and Ella Emhoff who was born five years later.
Despite this divorce, the “second gentleman” is still close to his ex-wife, who kept her married name, and Kamala Harris too. At Joe Biden’s inauguration in January 2021, Kerstin Emhoff was there to support America’s “second couple.” “Kerstin and I get along well and we’re very good friends,” Kamala Harris told The Hollywood Reporter in an interview Peopleadding: “We sometimes joke that our modern family is almost a little too functional.” The couple has just celebrated their tenth wedding anniversary.
An asset for the presidential candidate’s campaign?
Since Joe Biden’s withdrawal, Doug Emhoff has been much more public. His speech at the Democratic convention positions him as a valuable support for the candidate. His image as a family man and sports fan could speak to an electorate with whom his wife is less popular: “voters skeptical of Harris could end up identifying with Emhoff,” Kevin Liao, a Democratic consultant in Los Angeles, assured the American media NPR. His reputation as a model family man has, however, been slightly tarnished by the revelation of his cheating on his first wife, as reported by New York Post.
Emhoff, who is Jewish, is also committed to combating anti-Semitism and is a staunch defender of Israel. According to the New York Timesthis could allow Kamala Harris to appeal more to American Jewish voters. It could possibly, conversely, cause her to lose votes among the American Muslim and Palestinian community.