Second gentleman Doug Emhoff mixed his personal story and detailing his background with praise for his wife Kamala Harris in his Democratic National Convention speech on Tuesday night.
“She’s showing you what you already know, she is ready to lead,” Emhoff said, imploring the crowd that Harris will bring joy and also a steady hand to the White House.
Emhoff described being McDonald’s employee of the month and said he’s still best friends with the people he grew up with and that their group chat “is probably blowing up right now.”
He gently tried to defuse Republican political attacks against the way his wife laughs, telling the convention, “You know that laugh, I love that laugh!”
Republicans have roundly mocked Harris’ laugh, which sometimes erupts during awkward moments. Trump even toyed with giving her the nickname Laffin’ Kamala Harris.
Emhoff detailed at the Democratic National Convention how he was the son of two Brooklynites who have been married for nearly seven decades, and that the family moved to New Jersey when he was a kid because of opportunities for his father, who worked in the shoe business.
When his dad got another new job, Emhoff said, the family moved across the country to Los Angeles, where money was tight enough that he worked at McDonald’s for extra money while in high school. Harris has also played up her experience working at McDonald’s on the campaign trail, lately.
Emhoff said he used loans and help from his dad to get through law school and went to work as a lawyer where he met “the guys in my fantasy football league” where his team name is still Narvana, a shoutout to its 1990s roots.
He also told the crowd that Thursday marked his and Harris’ 10th wedding anniversary.
Second Gentleman @DouglasEmhoff: Kamala is a joyful warrior. And here's the thing about joyful warriors. They're still warriors. And Kamala is as tough as they come pic.twitter.com/Zir7ryGC64
— Kamala HQ (@KamalaHQ) August 21, 2024
