Doug Emhoff just a guy who loves his wife.
Countless A Fundraiser And at campaign events, he brought up Kamala Harris, his wife of 10 years, vice president and current presidential candidate. he gives an interview About the importance of men supporting the women in their lives. He visited Planned Parenthood Clinic Champion breeding rights.
None of this is revolutionary for the spouse of a top political leader, but Americans are very hungry for high-profile male feminists — especially guys who don’t demand accolades or Take yourself very seriously — that Emhoff has claimed a prominent place in the cultural zeitgeist. He a zaddyA Pinup, “TikTok’s White Boy of the Month.” he has He has his own dedicated fan base (Which Vanity Fair dubiously named D-unit) And now, as America’s potential first “first gentleman,” he’s taking on his biggest stage yet: On Tuesday, Emhoff will address the Democratic National Convention, and then he’s expected to introduce his wife as he accepts the Democratic nomination for two. later at night
The last person to help his wife campaign for president was former President Bill Clinton, who brought his own baggage and sometimes struggled not to campaign. All about him.
Conversely, Emhoff has thus far been able to serve as an advocate for his wife — and for American women in general — without putting himself in the spotlight.
Still, he already had to deal with the matter from long ago Challenge his loyal wife-guy image. And, if Harris is elected, he will be the first to chart his own course Having a semi-official role That, for centuries, has been defined by women.
The role of first wife is already changing, with first ladies keep their jobs and play a Greater role in public life. Emhoff may have the opportunity — and, some might argue, the responsibility — to transform that further, ushering in a new era when a first spouse isn’t always the wife, and when young people look to the White House not just to learn how to lead. , but how to follow.
So who is Doug Emhoff, and what does his history and background say about how he might move into the role of first gentleman?
“I’m just, you know, a husband.”
Emhoff and Harris met in 2013, and by all accounts were quickly smitten with each other. “The moment I met Kamala, I knew I was in love,” says Emhoff wrote in GQ In 2021. He was a successful lawyer and was already the Attorney General of California. They married in 2014 and Harris became “momla” His two teenage children from his first marriage, Cole And Ella (who have been An object of public fascination in their own right).
Harris and Emhoff maintained their separate careers, even as he ran for president in 2020 — until Joe Biden chose Harris as his running mate.
On the campaign trail, Emhoff served as his wife’s No. 1 fan and enthusiastic if slightly goofy surrogate. “I’m just, you know, a husband, and I’m here to tell people why I love Kamala,” he said known Chasten Buttigieg, another Popular political husbandIn 2020.
When Harris became vice president, Emhoff appeared to take his role as second gentleman seriously, visiting the Library of Congress. Previous second spouse. “I realize I’m the first gentleman to play this role,” he said at the time, “and I certainly don’t want to be the last.”
Such comments made him popular crushed Among those who are feminists and progressives Calling him “Hot Jewish Dad”. And buy mug with his mouth on them.
Emhoff presents his support of his wife not just as an act of love, but as an example of what a feminist husband can be. “Elevating women so they can play important roles” is a very masculine thing said in a 2022 interview. “It’s not taking away opportunities from men.”
So, how should the first gentleman be?
When the role was invented in the 18th century, the first lady was simply supposed to “act as the president’s hostess at social events.” Kathryn Jellisonan Ohio University history professor who has studied first ladies, told Vox in an email Eleanor Roosevelt is widely seen as the first presidential spouse to become a “public figure in her own right” and champion a public-service cause, Jellison said.
Although his immediate successors, Bess Truman and Mamie Eisenhower, did not follow that pattern, Jackie Kennedy devoted herself to Conservation and restoration of the White House and other historic buildings, and every first lady since has dedicated herself to at least one cause or issue, Jellison said. Jill BidenFor example, working with military families and administration Cancer Research Initiative.
The last three first ladies have also challenged Americans’ expectations that the role would be filled by “a white, American-born woman who identifies primarily as a housewife.” America’s first black first lady, Michelle Obama, also came from a strong career as a lawyer and hospital administrator — and Her husband was superior Melania Trump at work was an immigrant, the first first lady born outside the United States About 200 years (She also often Socially inferior of introduction). Jill Biden continues her career as one Community college professor and worked as a Important advisor to her husband.
“The women who have recently assumed the role of first lady reflect the greater diversity of American womanhood in the 21st century,” Jellison said.
Over time, the first lady’s role as hostess has diminished — for example, no Melania Trump Or Jill Biden chooses a pattern of official White House china, a tradition From the 19th century.
As First Gentleman, Emhoff will have the opportunity to go one step further, reflecting the diversity of relationships in America today — even those that begin later in life. blended familyAnd allow a female partner the space to hold a high-powered, even mundane, job.
Emhoff will likely bring his own priorities to the White House if his wife ends up there. “He could follow Jill Biden’s lead and continue his ‘day job’ teaching law at Georgetown University,” Jellison said. He probably would have continued Speaking out against anti-SemitismAn important role for him both personally and politically. She will be the first Jewish first lady, as well as a major Jewish surrogate in the administration.
One of the “beautiful men of the left”.
Now that Harris is running for president, Emhoff’s brand of feminist masculinity stands in stark contrast to the more combative style embraced by high-profile men across the aisle. When vice-presidential candidate Sen. J.D. Vance began receiving renewed attention for his comments calling out Harris “Childless Cat Lady,” Emhoff responded that the comment “hurt [his] feeling.”
“You’re telling a lot of people in this country and this world that they don’t matter,” he said an interview with Vox Media Podcast host and former federal prosecutor Preet Bharra.
She’s shown herself to be able to talk easily about reproductive health care, which Trump certainly can’t match. on a A recent visit to a Planned Parenthood clinicHe talks about a “post-“.Dobbs hellscape” where “you can’t get a pap smear; You can’t get primary care.” She too Abortion restrictions outlined “Affects all Americans, not just women.”
It won him praise from progressives, too Rebecca Traster of New York Magazine Described Emhoff and presumptive vice presidential nominee Tim Walz as “nice men of the left.” These men, writes Trister, “were presenting a different definition of patriarchal power tied to women’s emancipation and full civic participation and declaring it a new ideal.”
Still, Emhoff had an easier job as second gentleman than serving as the top surrogate in his wife’s campaign, or even easier if she won. As his profile grew, he had to own it He had an affair During her first marriage, to a teacher at her children’s school.
“During my first marriage, Kirstin and I went through some difficult times because of my work,” he said A statement to The Times. “I took over, and in the years that followed, we worked through things as a family and came out stronger on the other side.”
The revelation of the affair threatens to tarnish Emhoff’s unsavory image somewhat – “What happens when it turns out that a womanizer has had a less-than-perfect partner in the past?” Heather Schwedel asks Slate. For now, many Americans seem willing to forgive (One X users called him a “reincarnated wife guy”).
But if Emhoff finds himself in the role of first gentleman, he will face more scrutiny — and new challenges.
All in all, however, Emhoff will have a chance to show what it’s like to be a man in an important but secondary role at a critical moment for American masculinity.
Her last four years in public life have been built on the idea that there is dignity, honor and joy in supporting the woman you love. At a time when women’s autonomy seems increasingly questionable, this may be her most important contribution.
