How Doug Emhoff is amplifying his wife’s historic presidential bid

CNN —

Confronted with a barrage of negative social media posts from former President Donald Trump aimed at his wife, second gentleman Doug Emhoff eschewed machismo or defensiveness.

“That’s all he got?” he said Tuesday of the attacks on Vice President Kamala Harris, the new and historic presumptive Democratic presidential nominee.

His response in that off-the-cuff moment offered insight into the Harris-Emhoff dynamic: The second gentleman is uniquely positioned to confidently serve in a supporting role to a woman vying to the most powerful person in the country.

Emhoff has spent the last four years getting comfortable with being the first – serving as the first “second gentleman,” an unelected role with no manual and an automatic global platform. But with his wife’s swift ascension to presumptive nominee, he is now auditioning for another first: the potential first gentleman to the first woman president.

Vice President Kamala Harris and second gentleman Doug Emhoff arrive at her campaign headquarters in Wilmington, Delaware, July 22, 2024.

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And the second gentleman’s role is coming into sharper focus: Harris’ hype man, her closest confidante and best surrogate, and an ally amplifying her historic position and message on reproductive rights.

Already an active presence on the campaign trail, Emhoff is expected to continue his work supporting Harris’ candidacy across the country at campaign and fundraising events, in addition to his official duties, an Emhoff spokesperson told CNN.

“There has been life breathed into the Democratic campaign for president and they do not have one minute to waste or lose. And so you