Doug Emhoff details Harris' presidential plans, defends against partisan attacks amid 'whirlwind' campaign
With just 46 days until voters take to the polls, second gentleman Doug Emhoff has been on the campaign trail supporting his wife, Vice President Kamala Harris, as she campaigns to be the next president.
Emhoff joined "GMA" anchor Michael Strahan on Wednesday in New Jersey, where he was raised. The Garden State holds a special place in the attorney's heart, he said.
"New Jersey, it's about, you know, loyalty," Emhoff told Strahan. "It's about family. It's about sticking up for each other. It's about being strong, not taking any crap."
Emhoff has been showing his loyalty to his family, touring the U.S. in support of Harris and speaking up to defend himself, and his wife, from partisan attacks.
"There's still a lot of voters out there that say, 'We need to know more about Vice President Harris.' What do you say to them about who she is?" Strahan asked.
"In my DNC speech, I called her 'the joyful warrior.' So, it's the joyful part, my wife, the one who's there for our family is going to be there for your families," Emhoff said. "But she's also the warrior."
"And I think Donald Trump -- got the warrior part up on that debate stage," Emhoff added of what he saw happen at this month's presidential debate, hosted by ABC News. "She's somebody who spent her entire life for the people. Donald Trump has spent his entire life for himself."
In an historic moment on July 21, President Joe Biden made the decision to leave the race for president. Biden's decision put Harris and Emhoff in an even brighter spotlight than the one shone on them for her role as the vice president.
"So, how have things changed for you in the past two months?" Strahan asked.
With a little humor, Emhoff responded, "Oh, not much."
"It's been a whirlwind," he added. "That day when President Biden decided to step aside on the campaign, I mean, she got up there and stepped up. Like, we needed a leader and she stepped into the breach. And it's like she is the best, most badass version of the Kamala Harris we know and I love very much."
Part of the group cheering Harris on at the DNC were Harris' adult stepchildren, Ella Emhoff, 25, and Cole Emhoff, 30. And Ella, like her dad, showed plenty of emotion as they watched "Mamala" Harris accept the nomination and deliver her headlining convention speech.
Earlier this week, though, Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders of Arkansas made a comment -- "My kids keep me humble. ... Unfortunately, Kamala Harris doesn't have anything keeping her humble" -- that seemed not to acknowledge Harris' role as a stepmother to Doug Emhoff's children from his first marriage to Kersten Emhoff.
"How do you react to a comment like that?" Strahan asked.
"Yeah, it's appalling for somebody who is in a position of leadership, like governor, to say something so repulsive and so out of touch -- not only on the 1 -- mispronouncing her name, which is disrespectful. She knows what her name is. And then, 2 -- as if you need to have your own biological children to be humble," Emhoff said.
"But then -- then to say as if women should be humble," Emhoff continued. "And you can see the pushback -- even from ... within her own party, because it's a repulsive thing to say."
Kersten Emhoff had responded to Huckabee Sanders, posting on social media, saying, "Cole and Ella keep us inspired to make the world a better place. I do it through storytelling. Kamala Harris has spent her entire career working for the people, ALL families. That keeps you pretty humble."
"It's been something to watch, speaking of family, to see your kids step up, to see your ex-wife step up," Strahan said.
"Yeah, we roll hard together, you know? That's who we are. And, you know, Kersten has been incredible. When you attack Kamala, especially on issues about motherhood -- Kersten has just been out there each and every time just to tell the truth about who Kamala is as a mother, as a person, as a member of our family, again, who's always there for us. And she's gonna be there for your family."
How a Harris presidency would differ from Biden's presidency is a question on voters' minds, and when Strahan asked how her administration would differ from Biden, Emhoff had a lot to say.
"So, on the economy, we're going to continue to expand, you know, infrastructure -- the Chips Act ... bring the chips manufacturing in here," he said. "This transition into clean energy and on the infrastructure piece, you're seeing the effect just driving around the country, bridges, roads, tunnels, airports, broadband.
"So, all of that is going to continue and expand," Emhoff added. "She's also talking about specifics that are gonna help everyday Americans with more housing, the child tax credit, opening small businesses."
Critics, Strahan said, might say, "'Well, she hasn't done that [during] her three and a half years in office as vice president.' Do you think that's unfair?"
"She's the vice president, not the president," Emhoff replied. "The Vice President is there as part of the administration, not leading the administration. So as president she's gonna be able to put forth her policies and plans and effectuate those."
"And if you become first gentleman, what would that say about, you know, defining the gender roles, and about masculinity?" Strahan followed up.
Something great, Emhoff said.
"A man supporting a woman and lifting up a woman -- it's the right thing to do," he said. "And when some women succeed it's not like some man somewhere is not succeeding. There's like this binary thinking where it's either/or. No, it's both. When we lift up women, we lift up all of society."
Before becoming second gentleman and a distinguished visitor from practice at Georgetown Law and a distinguished fellow of Georgetown Law's Institute for Technology Law and Policy, Emhoff worked for years as a litigator, even working a case for Strahan and his company "back in the day," the "GMA" anchor noted.
"So, what is it like for you to take a break from a career that you not only excelled at, but how was it for you to find your new identity in all of this?" Strahan said.
"I miss it," Emhoff said. "I still -- I miss it. There was a lot of action in it. ... But being able to be second gentleman, and hopefully first gentleman, you know, there's so much to do. And so, it really was a way to satisfy that curiosity that I have, that work ethic."
