It’s remarkable to watch Vice President Kamala Harris run as any other Democratic candidate would. She’s not centering the historic nature of her candidacy or personally putting a huge emphasis on her race or gender. She’s just like: I’m running, let’s go. It’s the same with Doug Emhoff – there isn’t a huge conversation about “wow, we could have the first First Gentleman in the White House.” He’s just… Doug. He’s the supportive spouse. With all of this, it’s important to point out that Kamala and Doug have done a lot to normalize their whole deal in the past four years. Doug’s not coming into this blind – he’s been a known quantity as the Second Gentleman, and he’s spent years supporting VP Harris and representing the country and standing in at events for his wife and the president. Like, Doug was just at the Paris Olympics to represent the White House.
Well, Doug had his moment at the Democratic National Convention on Tuesday night. While Kamala Harris and Tim Walz were attending a huge, packed rally in Milwaukee, Doug was on stage in Chicago, being a mensch. It was an opportunity to reintroduce himself to a national audience.
Doug wasn’t there to be super-political and he understood the assignment. He was there to humanize himself and his wife and he did that. Between Doug and Tim Walz, the masculinity is not toxic – it’s healthy, supportive and dorky in a lovely way. The best part about this was the video package made by Cole Emhoff, Doug’s son. I could and will watch this a million times:
What a gift from Cole. I’ll never forget this. pic.twitter.com/Hhjv99cLhJ
— Doug Emhoff (@DouglasEmhoff) August 21, 2024
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Getty.