The relationship between Kamala Harris and Doug Emhoff has already been one of the highlights of the Democratic National Convention, but on Thursday, the day of Harris’ big acceptance speech, it will take center stage.
That’s because the vice president and second gentleman will celebrate their 10th anniversary on Thursday – facing the possibility that year 10 could look very different for them depending on what happens in November.
Emhoff would become America’s first “first gentleman” if his wife is elected president, and Harris would become the first Black and Southeast Asian woman president of the United States.
On Thursday, Emhoff shared a message about the special event.
“10 years of marriage, forever. Happy anniversary, @VP. I love you,” he wrote on X.
Emhoff, 59, is already America’s first “second gentleman” and the first Jewish spouse of a U.S. president or vice president. He has been a leader of the Biden administration’s efforts to combat anti-Semitism. Emhoff gave up a lucrative career as an entertainment and intellectual property lawyer in California to avoid conflicts of interest and support his wife after she became vice president.
His convention speech Tuesday night focused on their romance and offered a personal glimpse also meant to appeal to voters. He recounted the details of their first phone call, after he left her a rambling voicemail that she still plays for him every year on their anniversary.
In his speech Tuesday night, Emhoff recounted how he and Harris met on a blind date in 2013; she was then California’s attorney general. They married in 2014, his first marriage and her second. Emhoff has two adult children, Ella and Cole, from a previous marriage, and they call Harris “Momala.”
Emhoff wants America to love his wife as much as he does.
“I love that laugh,” he said adoringly, responding to Trump’s criticism of Harris’ laugh.
As Harris returned to Chicago from Milwaukee after her rally, Air Force Two spent an extra 10 minutes in the air so she could watch her husband speak, according to an aide.
Emhoff said he “fell in love quickly” with Harris, adding that she found “joy in the pursuit of justice” and “stood up to bullies.” That’s not how most husbands describe their partners, but Emhoff is trying to convince voters that the woman he’s been married to for 10 years on Thursday knows how to take on Trump.
This year, instead of a birthday dinner, he will watch Harris detail her plans to the American people.
But before that, she had another message to share.
“Happy birthday, Dougie,” she wrote. “I wouldn’t want to take this trip with anyone else but you.”
