Amundson appeared a mixture of thrilled and nervous. It’s not day by day that Vice President Kamala Harris’ husband, the second gentleman of ameri
Amundson appeared a mixture of thrilled and nervous. It’s not day by day that Vice President Kamala Harris’ husband, the second gentleman of america, requests a particular order. Her bookstore has a modest assortment. What if she didn’t have it?
However Emhoff wasn’t searching for a e-book about some wonkish home coverage agenda or a international entanglement. He requested, as a substitute, if Amundson had Seth Rogen’s memoir. (Sure, that Seth Rogen.)
Amundson laughed internally, she recalled later, as a result of it was — properly — all so surprising. She positively didn’t have it.
Denied his most popular literary journey, Emhoff laughed, pulled out his bank card and informed her to select a e-book for him, wrap it up, and never inform him what it was. Amundson wrapped up “Seven Sorts of Folks You Discover in Bookshops.”
Enjoyable Doug had misplaced out to critical Douglas as soon as once more.
The story, recounted by Amundson and the proprietor of the espresso store, was a distillation of life being the primary second gentleman in historical past. Emhoff is an historic determine in his personal proper, a wise and achieved leisure lawyer who’s utilizing his perch to get extra vaccines in arms, carry extra consideration to meals insecurity and native companies decimated by the pandemic. However, he’s nonetheless simply type of a dude.
Aides say he didn’t desire a life within the public eye. However he’s additionally amenable to doing the political work that comes with the publish.
Every vice presidential partner has tackled the job a bit in a different way. However there’s a reasonably frequent blueprint. You help the veep, host events (often in robes made in America), select a non-controversial platform — serving to deprived children or veterans or youngsters victimized by bullying — group up with the primary girl on one other non-controversial coverage space, and repeat for 4 extra years if there’s a second time period.
Nonetheless, if Emhoff typically looks like he’s making issues up as he goes alongside, it’s as a result of he (and each second partner earlier than him) is.
“There may be nothing within the Structure concerning the first girl and there’s definitely nothing concerning the second girl or second gentleman. So that they have a number of leeway to do as a lot or as little as they need,” mentioned Kate Andersen Brower, writer of “First Girls: The Grace and Energy of America’s Fashionable First Women.”
Emhoff’s workers isn’t making an attempt to reinvent the wheel. When he started envisioning what his function would possibly appear like, he met and talked with the sorority of girls that got here earlier than him — particularly the present first girl, Jill Biden. “He isn’t the primary second partner, so lots of the issues he shall be doing are issues which have been finished earlier than,” Emhoff’s chief of workers Julie Mason informed POLITICO. “A few of them may be new to him.”
However Emhoff additionally isn’t simply one other partner to a sitting VP. He’s the primary with XY chromosomes. And the way he provides his personal “Douggie” aptitude to the gig will set the template not only for future second gents, but additionally for male spouses of highly effective ladies throughout the nation. Aides say Emhoff is cognizant of how essential it’s for youths (and adults) to see a person totally embrace the idea of being a supportive husband to a strong girl whereas shaking up outdated gender stereotypes. It’s given a further weight to his function.
“I hope it normalizes that we as a rustic have gotten to a degree the place we’re snug seeing a person in that place supporting his spouse,” Andersen Brower mentioned. “And on the identical time, we’ve got to type of calibrate how excited we’re about it, as a result of it’s so absurd that it is taken us this lengthy.”
The role-modeling started after the election. Emhoff give up his personal high-powered job (which accounted for many of the greater than $1.6 million the couple raked in final yr) for a one-class-a-semester educating job at Georgetown College; his first in-person class begins in August. After which, as he constructed his group — a small group of 9 — the main focus was first on taking part in cheerleader.
“We got here in right here and the very first thing he did was elevate his hand to see how he may very well be useful with the pandemic response and restoration,” Mason mentioned. “He was not elected to workplace. His No. 1 job is to help the vice chairman, to help the administration.”
As quickly because the administration started, Emhoff was dispatched to dozens of occasions — many in-person, together with visits to small companies and vaccination clinics. Typically, he promised to take again the conversations he had there to the Naval Observatory, the place he and the vice chairman now stay. As he’s finished these occasions, Emhoff has additionally labored together with his group to determine what his personal platform may be. Aides say they aren’t in a rush and it’s typical for there to not be an introduced initiative this early within the administration. However outdoors of vaccinations, there’s one coverage space Emhoff appears extra taken with than others: meals safety.
Virtually each roundtable or cease has one thing to do with meals and diet, one thing that even throughout the marketing campaign was a spotlight. As he visited meals banks, aides say he was struck by the shortage of fairness and entry.
Again in February, when now-Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack was being just about sworn in by Harris, he mentioned he talked to Emhoff, who had referred to as to congratulate him on his affirmation. Vilsack informed Harris, “We wish to get him concerned in diet,” to which Harris replied that her husband “cares an excellent deal about that.” Senior Emhoff aides say it’s virtually a certain factor that meals safety will find yourself being an initiative as he charts out his function in additional element. However his involvement on the subject remains to be within the planning levels.
However being a supportive partner with a ardour for meals safety hasn’t been with out its challenges. Emhoff is the one one of many “4 principals” — as aides seek advice from the Biden and Harris {couples} — with restricted expertise in public life. And that has required some changes.
Maryland Lawyer Basic Brian Frosh, who shared a espresso with Emhoff close to the water in Annapolis final week, mentioned Emhoff talked about to him how bizarre he discovered the bubble that now surrounds him. He famous the necessity to make “appointments to see your youngsters.” Even the issues that look spontaneous to the skin — like a fast cease at a treasured unbiased e-book retailer — now take intensive planning and scheduling.
“There’s positively a interval of adjustment in studying how the techniques function right here,” Mason mentioned. “You may’t at all times do issues as a lot on a whim as possibly you’d have earlier than.” However, she mentioned, Emhoff has by no means complained to the workers about it.
To keep up a semblance of normalcy in his life, Emhoff holds scheduled Zoom calls regularly together with his household, and has gone out to see D.C. on the weekends with mates, Mason says. A kind of mates is Chasten Buttigieg, husband of now-Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, who grew to become shut with Emhoff throughout the 2020 marketing campaign. Buttigieg mentioned the 2 nonetheless “commerce texts very often.” They generally speak concerning the platform Emhoff plans to construct (of which meals safety has come up) or what they’re watching on Netflix. However sometimes they speak concerning the changes that include their new lives.
“There’s nonetheless acquired to be that holy shit cloud, hovering over them. Like, wow, we’re actually doing this. And he has to determine tips on how to construct a platform, an workplace, a group after which additionally, like, be certain he is being actually supportive,” Chasten Buttigieg mentioned in a telephone interview. “However he appears very peppy, like he actually desires to love ‘go, go, go, go, go’ and that comes with a number of concern for getting the second proper.”
As he performs the function of supportive husband of a strong girl — and adjusts to the duties and a focus that include it — Emhoff has garnered a gaggle of loyal followers of his personal. #DougHive could not match the scale, stature or aggressively defensive tone that Harris’ #KHive possesses. However that’s what comes once you’re proudly second fiddle.
“He lets her lead. That is fairly exceptional to see. And the truth that he is a white male married to this robust Black girl, I believe he is aware of what meaning,” mentioned Danielle Garrett, a musician and trainer in Pennsylvania and energetic member of the Fb group titled “Doug Emhoff, Esquire: Our Second Gentleman.” The group, of greater than 800 and counting, posts hyperlinks about almost each transfer Emhoff makes: from an image of him together with his daughter Ella at her commencement or moments like Emhoff sitting by himself earlier than the joint session to Congress final month blowing kisses to Harris. (Grant posted that one with the remark “What a real gent!!” with three coronary heart emojis.)
Emmoff’s “clearly simply being himself,” Garrett mentioned, which makes him the kind of relatable determine that appears uncommon in politics.
It has not solely served his spouse properly — it’s helped him, too. For proof: After he left her retailer, Admundson, the bookshop proprietor, mentioned she went searching for a strategy to get the Seth Rogen memoir to Emhoff as quickly as she might.