Did Doug Emhoff’s checkered history contribute to Kamala Harris’ election loss?

Ms. Harris credits media power couple Dana and Matt Walden with being responsible for setting her up with Mr. Emhoff – but even the story of their meeting was not without controversy as Ms Harris hit the campaign trail.

The two couples’ closeness was called into question by Mr Trump because Ms Walden is an executive at Disney, the parent company of ABC News, which hosted the debate between Ms Harris and Mr Trump in September.

Mrs. Harris and Mr. Emhoff married the father-of-two in 2014 at Ms Harris’ side as she campaigned to become president in 2019, and after she was elected Mr. Biden’s running mate.

Mrs. Harris also has a close relationship with both Mr. Emhoff’s children, Ella, 25, a model and knitwear designer, and Cole, 30, a producer, call her “Momala.”

Emhoff worked as an entertainment attorney for 30 years before giving up his career to teach at Georgetown Law School when he and his wife moved to Washington.

While on the campaign trail this year, Mr. Emhoff often tells the story of when he missed Ms. Harris’ call after Joe Biden dropped out of the 2024 race because he was at a bike class in Los Angeles.

After leaving his phone in the car, Mr. Emhoff Mr. Biden’s resignation letter on a friend’s phone.

‘Devoted Father’

When he finally retrieved his mobile, it was “self-combusting with the volume of messages and calls”, said Mr. Emhoff.

After he reached his wife, he said he told her, “I love you, I’m proud of you, I’m here for you, I kind of know what to do.”

It is the kind of story that Mr. Emhoff, whom Ms Harris calls “my Dougie”, had apparently hoped to use to build a reputation as the “wife guy”, portraying himself as a devoted husband who was primarily there to cheer. Mrs. Harris.

His social media accounts are saturated with posts about Ms Harris.

For Ms Harris’s 60th birthday last month, he shared a montage of videos of them kissing, handing her a rose and shielding her from the rain by carrying her umbrella.

“Happy birthday honey. I love you so much and I will always have your back,” Mr Emhoff wrote.

Mr. Emhoff refers to himself as a “devoted father” and “proud husband” in the bio on his social media accounts.

He has his children’s initials tattooed on his left wrist because he wanted “a visceral reminder of them”.

This image of a modern husband and father may have been an attempt to convince voters that they were ready for a female president. Maybe that’s what they weren’t ready for, Mr. Emhoff.