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

Ms. Harris says media power couple Dana and Matt Walden are responsible for linking her to Mr. Emhoff — but even the story of their meeting was not without controversy once Ms. Harris went on the campaign trail.

The close relationship between the two couples was questioned by Trump because Ms. Walden is an executive at Disney, the parent company of ABC News, which hosted the debate between Ms. Harris and Trump in September.

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

Ms Harris is also close to Mr Emhoff’s children, Ella, 25, a model and knitwear designer, and Cole, 30, a producer, who call her ‘Momala’.

Mr. Emhoff worked as an entertainment lawyer for 30 years before leaving 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 frequently told the story of when he missed Ms. Harris’ phone calls after Joe Biden withdrew from the 2024 race because he was at a cycling class in Los Angeles.

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

‘Devoted father’

When he finally retrieved his cellphone, it was “self-immolating from the amount of messages and calls,” Mr. Emhoff said.

After reaching 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’s the kind of story that Mr. Emhoff, who calls Mrs. Harris “my Dougie,” had apparently hoped to use to build a reputation as the “lady’s man,” portraying himself as a devoted husband who looks out for the first and foremost was to encourage him. Mrs. Harris.

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

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

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

Mr. Emhoff calls himself a “devoted father” and “proud husband” in the biography on his social media accounts.

He has his children’s initials tattooed on his left wrist because he wanted “a deep memory 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 they weren’t ready for Mr. Emhoff yet.