STEVENS POINT, Wis. — Doug Emhoff was late to learn his life had changed, he told an enthusiastic audience of Democratic volunteers Saturday as they prepared to knock on doors in support of his wife, Vice President Harris, running for president.
At home in Los Angeles last Sunday after a campaign swing through Nevada, the nation’s first second gentleman had a delayed flight. Deciding to make the most of “another free morning in L.A.,” he said, “I thought I’d just go to an exercise cycling class with some friends of mine.”
The attendees laughed, anticipating his punchline: “I left my phone in the car.”
Emhoff enjoyed coffee after a spin class with friends until, after about 20 minutes, one of them showed him their phone, displaying the letter President Biden released declaring he was suspending his campaign. As a lawyer, Emhoff said, he skipped toward the end of the letter and assumed Biden was just writing that he would address the nation later in the week after recovering from covid.
But his friend told him to read the paragraphs above, in which Biden said he would not seek reelection — and Emhoff and his Secret Service detail took off running to the car, where his phone was blowing up with people telling him to call Harris.
“You could literally see steam and fire and smoke,” Emhoff said of his phone, to even more laughter. He called Harris. “She’s like, where the” — then he paused, suggesting a missing word — “were you? I need you.”
Emhoff traveled to Wisconsin on Saturday for his first major campaign swing since Harris became the presumptive Democratic nominee, delivering brief remarks at the Hmong Wausau Festival, stopping for soft serve and kicking off a canvas launch at a local party office in Stevens Point. The second gentleman is no stranger to campaigning on behalf of his wife or the then-Biden campaign, but the switch in the ticket last week has revived attention on the man who could be the first gentleman.
A former entertainment lawyer, Emhoff is viewed by many Harris supporters as the ultimate “wife guy” and a purveyor of dad jokes. He’s co-starred in some of the Harris-related memes and fan edits taking over social media over the past week, with a photo of him when he was young going viral, as well as a photo in which he eagerly shows Harris his phone while she looks at him with skepticism. Some social media users even have mused that he is the true “brat” in the relationship, referring to songs from a Charli XCX album used in many of the pro-Harris social media postings.
Speaking in Wisconsin, Emhoff had plenty of jokes (such as suggesting he’s “just a lawyer from L.A.” who’s often thrown into unpredictable circumstances given his White House role) and personal anecdotes to share, including meeting Harris on a blind date. But he also highlighted his experience traveling the world for the Biden administration, speaking at the Hmong community event about his trips to Asia and Harris’s background as the daughter of an Indian immigrant. He leaned on his legal background when describing the election’s role in shaping the future Supreme Court and the actions it could take to restrict access to contraception.
He described “my wife, Kamala Harris, and her vision for the future,” laying out the stakes while running through a list of popular Democratic policies. He also needled both former president Donald Trump and his running mate, Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, who have lobbed a grab-bag of attacks at Harris since she became the likely Democratic nominee.
“You’ve all seen how pathetic JD Vance is, what a weirdo,” Emhoff said while at the canvass launch, where freshly printed Harris signs hung between now-vintage Biden for President signs and memorabilia from past Democratic campaigns. “Seriously, this guy, the more you get to know him, the more it’s just ridiculous.”
He also used his role to directly counter some of the Republican lines of attack against Harris, including Vance’s three-year-old comments calling Democrats — including Harris — “a bunch of childless cat ladies who are miserable.”
“Over the last decade, she’s not just been an amazing partner to me but a loving parent to two kids named Cole and Ella. From Day 1, she’s been present, nurturing and fiercely protective of them,” he said, referring to Harris’s two stepchildren from Emhoff’s prior marriage.
He concluded his remarks with a direct message for Trump, drawing raucous applause.
“Mr. Trump, I know you have so much trouble pronouncing her name,” Emhoff said, hand on his hip before waving it through the air and leaning forward. “Here’s the good news — after the election, you can just call her Madam President.”
Voters who watched Emhoff speak in Wisconsin praised him and his humor and said they hoped to see him out more on the campaign trail.
“I think he’s wonderful. It is not part of our country’s history that the women stand up in front of their husbands and run for something like this — it’s usually the woman’s position to stand back and smile,” said Nancy Foth, 74, a retired librarian who attended the canvass launch.
“I think this is amazing, and it’s time,” she added.