As second gentleman, Emhoff has worked to fight antisemitism and expand access to legal services after setting aside a 30-year career as an entertainment lawyer.
The chant began at Vice President Harris’s campaign headquarters in Wilmington, Del., on Monday as she prepared to kick off her campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination.
As Doug Emhoff walked up to the lectern to introduce his wife, Harris staffers shouted his name over and over — that of a man who made history as America’s first male vice-presidential spouse, and who could do so again in November if Harris were to win the presidency.
After almost four years of upending centuries-old gender stereotypes, Emhoff told the enthusiastic crowd he was ready for the next challenge: “Now I get to support my wife, Kamala Harris, running for president of the United States.”
Emhoff, who could become the first first gentleman of the United States, set aside his 30-year career as a high-profile Los Angeles entertainment lawyer when Harris assumed office. He has spoken candidly about the difficulties of leaving the work he loved to support Harris’s political aspirations — including at Monday’s event, where he paid credit to President Biden, who Emhoff said “had my back personally in some of my toughest moments as second gentleman.”
“It was always the president who came up to me and said: ‘Look, I know, kid, you’re a great lawyer. I know this must be tough, but what better way to leave that and to support your wife, who you love so much and your country that you love so much,’” an emotional Emhoff said, as Biden — who was unable to make the event as he recovers from covid-19 — listened in.
Emhoff, 59, was born in Brooklyn and raised in Matawan, N.
