Emhoff pulls back curtain on blended Harris family in convention speech

CHICAGO — Second gentleman Douglas Emhoff pulled back the curtain on his blended family with Vice President Harris in a Tuesday speech to the Democratic National Convention, praising his wife to chants of “Doug, Doug” from the United Center crowd.

“She finds joy in pursuing justice. She stands up to bullies just like my parents taught me to. She likes to see people do well but hates when they’re treated unfairly,” Emhoff said of his wife.

“Here’s the thing about joyful warriors: They’re still warriors,” he added.

When Emhoff took the stage, attendees in the stands held red signs that said “DOUG.” He went on to hail Harris, to cheers from the excited crowd.

“She knows the best way to deal with a coward is to take him head-on, because we all know cowards are weak. And Kamala Harris can smell weakness,” the second gentleman said.

He added, “her empathy is her strength.”

Harris was not in Chicago for the speech, but a pool report from Air Force Two reported that the plane circled for 10 minutes near Chicago so she could finish watching her husband’s address.

The front cabin erupted into cheers of “Doug! Doug! Doug!” as he spoke, and applause when he concluded.

Emhoff, who is Jewish, said Harris helped him connect to his faith, noting she goes to synagogue with him, and he goes to church with her for holy days. He said Harris also had originally encouraged him as second gentleman to spearhead the effort against antisemitism out of the Biden administration.

He also told the crowd that Thursday, when Harris gives her major keynote address as the party’s nominee, will be the couples’ 10th wedding anniversary and said trusting her with his family’s future “was the best decision I ever made”

“I love you so much. I’m so proud of how you’re stepping up for all of us. But that’s who she is — wherever she’s needed, however she’s needed, Kamala rises to the occasion,” Emhoff said. “She’s ready to lead. She brings both joy and toughness to this task, and she will be a great president we will all be proud of.”

The second gentleman shared his personal background and used the speech to introduce himself to voters, with Harris in the running to be the first female president, potentially making him the first, first gentleman of the United States.

He called his family a “big, beautiful, blended family,” pointing to his daughter, Ella, and his mother. He spoke about growing up in Brooklyn, N.Y., and then suburban New Jersey, and about going through law school, joining a fantasy football league with the team name “Nirvana,” becoming a dad and going through a divorce with his first wife.

Emhoff said a client set him up on a blind date with Harris, joking about how he called Harris for the first time at 8:30 a.m. and poking fun at himself for the first voicemail he left her. Emhoff noted Harris now makes him listen to the voicemail every year on their anniversary.

He thanked both Harris and his ex-wife, Kerstin, “for always putting family first” and shared that within the last month, while Harris has rapidly risen to become the Democratic nominee, he saw Harris on the phone and expected it to be an important call, but realized she was speaking to his daughter.

Emhoff was introduced by his son, Cole, who took the podium briefly before his father. Emhoff later noted that Harris officiated his son’s wedding.

Before the introduction, the convention played a video narrated by Cole Emhoff that included commentary mocking outfits, calling his dad “a really good” lawyer and acknowledging he divorced his first wife but that they all stayed close. Cole Emhoff talked about when he first met Harris, as well as her wedding with his father, and his father learning how to navigate being in the White House.

He called his father “kind, loving, and fiercely protective,” noting his work on combating antisemitism, and said he will “make history again as the first, first gentleman.”