There are two big indicators of Kamala Harris’s success and the fear her success generates. One, Harris’s enemies have already started to “Meghan Markle” her in the press, itemizing the cost of her jewelry (how dare a Black woman have nice things), claiming she’s mean to staff (she makes white women cry!) and overanalyzing her face, body, laugh, smile and body language. The second indicator is that the knives are out for Doug Emhoff. If they can’t get to Kamala, they’ll try to get Doug.
Doug’s first marriage ended years before he even met Kamala. They’ve both spoken about their meet-cute (they were set up by a mutual friend) and how they fell for each other quickly. Little is known about Doug’s first marriage other than Kerstin Emhoff and Doug still get along well, Kerstin a big cheerleader for Kamala, and Kerstin and Doug’s two adult kids love Kamala and they’re a great blended family. While I accept that there’s interest and curiosity in Kamala and Doug’s marriage – she is running for president after all, it comes with the territory – I do not accept that we need to know intimate details about Doug’s first marriage. Whatever happened, it happened two decades ago and let Kerstin and Doug have their privacy. Well, they came after Doug and there’s reporting about an affair. Doug cheated on Kerstin, and now Doug and Kerstin have both released statements:
Vice President Kamala Harris’ husband Doug Emhoff acknowledged Saturday in a statement to CNN that he had an affair during his first marriage after the alleged details of the relationship were published by a British tabloid.
“During my first marriage, Kerstin and I went through some tough times on account of my actions. I took responsibility, and in the years since, we worked through things as a family and have come out stronger on the other side,” Emhoff said in a statement provided exclusively to CNN.
The statement comes after the Daily Mail reported that Emhoff had a relationship with one of his then-young daughter’s teachers, which resulted in the end of his first marriage. The relationship and the circumstances around it were known four years ago to Joe Biden’s vetting committee as Harris was herself going through the running mate process before being picked for the ticket, a person familiar with the conversations told CNN. The person also said that Emhoff had told Harris about the affair well before they got married. The relationship ended years before Emhoff began dating Harris.
The Daily Mail reported that the woman became pregnant and that, according to a close friend, she “did not keep the child.” The woman, whom CNN is not naming, did not return a voicemail on Saturday afternoon looking for comment. Brian Fallon, a spokesperson for the Harris campaign, declined comment beyond the statement. Asked whether the campaign was disputing the basic facts reported by the Daily Mail, Fallon also declined comment.
Kerstin Emhoff said in a statement Saturday, “Doug and I decided to end our marriage for a variety of reasons, many years ago. He is a great father to our kids, continues to be a great friend to me and I am really proud of the warm and supportive blended family Doug, Kamala, and I have built together.”
Doug Emhoff has long regretted the circumstances and was aware that they could become public, a separate source familiar with the second gentleman said.
Yeah, that’s enough information for me. I’m fine with Doug’s statement and Kerstin’s. I hate that Kerstin is being dragged into it too, she’s not running for elected office (and neither is Doug). The optimist in me says that if THIS is the worst they’ve got, then Kamala Harris is in really good shape. Oh, no, VP Harris married a guy who cheated on his first wife. It’s not a flattering story for Doug, but also – people make mistakes, he owned it and it’s between Doug and Kerstin. VP Harris is running against a guy who cheated on multiple wives with multiple women. Donald Trump’s sexual encounter with Stormy Daniels led to hush money, bribery, threats, a criminal trial and felony convictions for Trump.
Photos courtesy of Cover Images, Backgrid, Kamala’s IG.
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- Supporters greet Vice President Kamala Harris and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff as they walk in the Capital Pride Celebration in Washington, DC on Saturday, June 12, 2021. Vice President Kamala Harris and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff walked a few blocks, while greeting supporters near freedom plaza. Pictured: Kamala Harris BACKGRID USA 12 JUNE 2021 BYLINE MUST READ: MediaPunch / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- United States Vice President Kamala Harris and second gentleman Doug Emhoff walk out of at the Vice President’s residence at the US Naval Observatory in Washington, DC to meet with Irish Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and his partner Matthew Barrett ahead of a St. Patrick’s Day breakfast on March 17, 2023. Featuring: Kamala Harris, Doug Emhoff Where: Washington, District of Columbia, United States When: 17 Mar 2023 Credit: Oliver Contreras/POOL/CNP/startraksphoto.com
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- President Joe Biden participates in an Jewish American Heritage Month Reception at the White House. Featuring: Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff Where: Washington, District of Columbia, United States When: 16 May 2023 Credit: POOL via CNP/startraksphoto.com
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- Second gentleman Doug Emhoff speaks alongside United States President Joe Biden during a roundtable discussion with leaders in the Jewish community in the Indian Treaty Room at the White House on October 11, 2023 in Washington, D.C. The President is holding the discussion following the terrorist attacks carried out by Hamas in Israel. Featuring: Doug Emhoff Where: Washington, District of Columbia, United States When: 11 Oct 2023 Credit: POOL via CNP/startraksphoto.com
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- United States Vice President Kamala Harris and second gentleman Doug Emhoff are seen in the Booksellers Room of the White House in Washington DC, during the State Dinner for Kenyan President William Ruto’s official State Visit to the United States. Featuring: Kamala Harris, Doug Emhoff Where: Washington, District of Columbia, United States When: 23 May 2024 Credit: CNP/INSTARimages
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- United States Vice President Kamala Harris and second gentleman Doug Emhoff are seen in the Booksellers Room of the White House in Washington DC, during the State Dinner for Kenyan President William Ruto’s official State Visit to the United States. Featuring: Kamala Harris, Doug Emhoff Where: Washington, District of Columbia, United States When: 23 May 2024 Credit: CNP/INSTARimages
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- Celebrities attending the WNBA game where the WNBA’s Washington Mystics host the Indiana Fever at the Capital One Arena. Featuring: Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff Where: Washington, District Of Columbia, United States When: 07 Jun 2024 Credit: Media Punch/INSTARimages
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- Celebrities attending the WNBA game where the WNBA’s Washington Mystics host the Indiana Fever at the Capital One Arena. Featuring: Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff Where: Washington, District Of Columbia, United States When: 07 Jun 2024 Credit: Media Punch/INSTARimages
They’re… grasping. To go after Harris for affairs, when Trump is a serial adulterer, is a sign of deep desperation.
They assume the old Swiftboating tactics will continue to work.
— Not in the age of online social networks.
to go after affairs to which Harris was not involved at all
This is not the gotcha they seem to think it is. In today’s world, this wouldn’t be bad even if Trump didn’t have his own, well known, very sordid history of extramarital affairs throughout all 3 of his marriages. There is absolutely no relevance to Harris’ ability to govern, her campaign or even her family life. Neither she nor her husband could be blackmailed to keep this covered up so there’s no risk to this just as the fact that Emhoff was married and divorced prior to his relationship with Harris. Sadly, if there was a pregnancy, the other woman will probably be harassed about it and if she had and gave up a child, you know they will hunt that child down (probably hoping that the kid is pro Trump to use on the campaign).
There are 3 “big” names running for POTUS. Of those, 2 of them (Trump & RFK Jr) have well documented histories of cheating on their partners AND credible SA allegations against them, not to mention their frequent flyer miles with Jeffrey Epstein (it should also be noted that JD Vance’s mentor and big Trump donor, Peter Theil also had quite the relationship with Epstein). Harris is the one candidate that doesn’t have these nasty skeletons in her closet
Isn’t it public knowledge that Trump cheated with Stormy Daniels when Melania had just given birth ? Like, do they think we are idiots with no access to Wikipedia ? The fact that this kind of campaign is not backfiring on them is insane.
Trump didn’t just cheat, he cheated and then committed literal felonies to cover it up.
Remember when Trump was on a ski trip with his wife and family and Marla happened to show up?
@Megan, exactly, I don’t even have to look at Stormy. I remember him having an open affair with Marla Maples when he was married to Ivana.
As insane as it is, he’s still denying that he slept with her.
Of course he is, she said he has a small penis. He is 100% That Guy.
Do we want to talk about Trump’s relationships and his wives pasts?
Exactly what popped into my head when I read that. Think about the timing of the Stormy Daniels mess, and the doorman who allegedly claimed he knew of a child whose mother is not Ivana, Marla or Melania…. if they want to go that route, it’s not going to be the gotcha they think it will be.
Also rich coming from the DM to say anything about affairs in politics when they employ Boris Johnson and are ride or die for him as a politician. The guy has an uncertain number of children and cheated on one of his ex-wives with his much-younger current wife while the former was fighting cancer.
Oof!!
I also feel sorry for the other woman, assuming she doesn’t take a tell-all payoff from the tabloids. Imagine doing something you are not proud of and not only dealing with the fallout from friends and acquaintances but then 15 years later it becomes international news because someone completely uninvolved with the situation is running for office.
It’s pretty weak tea, particularly if this is the worst news anyone can find on Kamala.
You said it more eloquently than I did! My first thought was about this woman who’s totally uninvolved.
Same. I hope she’s allowed to remain anonymous.
@Brassy Rebel a certain British tabloid already named her and plastered her photos all over its website and ambushed her with reporters.
I said below that I suspect this is a preemptive leak by the Harris campaign. If so, they have a responsibility to protect this woman. I may be wrong about it being preemptive. I can’t imagine they would provide her name and contact info. And if it wasn’t the campaign, who had all this information and leaked it to a Murdoch outlet?
“A preemptive leak by the Harris campaign.“
Why should that be? The Daily Mail isn’t even in the same country.
“And if it wasn’t the campaign, who had all this information and leaked it to a Murdoch outlet?”
The Fail isn’t Murdoch but it is part of the same cabal who were mixed up in pushing Brexit through and tied to the same Trump campaign manipulators through those links. The BM dig for information, don’t care who is hurt in the process and the strands go back and forth between conservative groups in the UK and US fueled and controlled by weaponized kompromat and dark money.
@Interested Gawker: my explanation is in comment 12 below. But, if this is not a deliberate leak from inside the campaign, how did a British tabloid get so much inside information about this episode in Doug Emhoff’s life? This is an incredibly detailed account of what happened. If it came from American right wing sources, we would have heard about it long ago.
“If it came from American right wing sources, we would have heard about it long ago.”
Not necessarily, I’m saying this as an observer on the sidelines, it looked as if the right wing and the US media made a point of muting any information, for good or ill, about VP Harris during Biden’s term to deny her a platform to build on for her later aspirations. Now that she’s been thrust to the top of the ticket any “dirt” they can scrape up gets released “now”.
How did they get a BM outlet get so much inside information? The way they always do…? They dig around, get tips and in this specific case I suspect got TOLD this information. There are BM journalists who openly work with the Heritage Foundation in the States, the Trump Campaign had ties to Cambridge Analytica and conservative politics has a vested interest in keeping power wherever they can now that France and England pushed back on their conservatism in their elections while the threat of fascism is breathing down all our necks.
It wasn’t a preemptive leak by the Harris campaign.
Harris and Emhoff divulged the information to the Biden campaign in 2020 when she was being vetted as a potential VP running mate.
That vetting is probably public information at this point and someone finally requested it via FOIA.
Vetting materials never become public information subject to FOIA requests. FOIA only applies to government agencies, not presidential campaigns. I still haven’t heard a credible explanation for who and how this was leaked. This would be considered highly sensitive information within the campaign, not least because it involves a third party. And the level of specificity (who knew what when) would not have made it into the right wing echo chamber without someone on the inside. Plus, if the right wing was holding it for maximum effect, they would have held it until the last week of October.
I also thought about how unfair this is for the other woman. It’s total shit.
Exactly. Imagine having your private reproductive choices splashed across international tabloid media and being ambushed by reporters at your home, just because the guy involved years later married someone who decided to run for office who has nothing to to do with you. It must be an absolute nightmare for this poor woman.
Yeah. Now let’s do Trump and count how many women he cheated with and how many wives he has had and cheated on and how many of those women didn’t “keep the child”/were encouraged to get an abortion by DT.
…or how many of those affairs were actually sexual assault.
Equality, Exacthis! And let’s also rehash Stormy, Karen, and E Jean! Trump is a felon because of his own interactions with women who were not his wives!
And let’s talk about his friendship with Epstein and how Trump bragged that he and Boris both enjoyed beautiful women. Trump is a disgusting degenerate. Kamala has built a loving blended family with a man she loves.
Melania had no issue partying with Epstein either.
Do they really want to go into the “cheating husband” drama? Pot meet kettle.
That’s it, guess I’m not voting for Doug. Seriously though if his first wife has come to terms with it, and is not only cordial but has a good relationship with him and Kamala who cares. What is this supposed to even mean in relation to Kamala? They’re so upset that there’s no there, there in relation to her relationship with Cole and Ella, and they can’t fall into yet another trope with the evil stepmom. They really were hoping that people wouldn’t pay attention and infer that the woman he had the affair with was Kamala, so they could paint her as some Jezebel. Meanwhile the other candidate’s wife has appeared in public with him twice this year and is currently awaiting felony sentencing.
Yeah, if this is the worst they got, then Kamala is doing great.
Not great that he did this, but obviously they handled it in a way they stayed friends, which is an indicator that the situation he put everyone in was managable.
Our friends at the DM are responsible for digging up this old “news”.It came out at Kamala vetting years ago. Yawn.
I feel awful for this other woman involved. It’s only a matter of time before her name surfaces on message boards (if it hasn’t already). Right now she’s getting calls from journalists about her literal medical history. It just sucks.
I think it helps immensely that Kerstin Emhoff shut the narrative down quickly. As Kamala gets the Markle treatment a strong defense will include other people standing up for her and setting the record straight. I hope we get a Harris Buttigieg or Harris Walz ticket. We’re not going back.
People who live in glass houses trump shouldn’t throw stones. I like that he and his ex-wife put out statements to put this absolute nonsense to rest and let the people know they have moved on and are happy for one another. They didn’t have too but they wanted it done.
My suspicion, having worked on and followed campaigns for years, is that this is a preemptive leak by the Harris campaign. They don’t want it to come out at the last minute and have to take time to deal with it then. There’s so much exculpatory info like he told Kamala “long before they were married” and that it was revealed to the Biden campaign during her own vetting for vp that it doesn’t sound like a hostile leak. This is politics, folks. If you’ve got a secret, it’s better to get it out on your own terms. They probably gave the woman involved a heads up. A right wing British tabloid is the perfect venue. So far, the American mainstream media is treating it mostly with a shrug. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Even if it came out “at the last minute” her opponent has so many negatives in his sexual misconduct what difference would it make? It makes no sense for the Harris campaign to put old information about her husband’s his first marriage in the BM.
Campaigns do not want to get bogged down explaining crap like this in the last week of October. No October surprises. And no October distractions. That’s when you hammer home your message.
This same thing happened with Jane Wyman, Nancy Reagan and Ronald Reagan.
Oh wait, that’s not right at all. I must be thinking of some other divorcé who is about to become the spouse of the president, who happens to be of mixed race, although that detail is irrelevant in every way except to avowed bigots.
These people tried to lie about Joe and Jill’s relationship and romance, making up evil shit about Joe and his daughter. It’s all projection with these hypocrites.
Reading the post for a second time, ” did not keep the child” stands out. Is this child now old enough to surface? What a news flash that would be. Hoping the campaign has a plan if action in case multiple children claim Emhoff parentage now that this has resurfaced.
Why would you assume that? Abortion is a medical procedure covered by HIPAA. The same with a pregnancy. Unless this woman disclosed that information herself it would be a huge violation. So they would have to be vague and just note she didn’t keep the child. And ” multiple children”? You act like Doug has five different kids by three different women or something.
Msiam; thank you for your comment. I am stunned that I never considered termination!! I just assumed adoption.
Libra, they’re playing to the supposed “pro” life folks here. Don’t you know that it’s a child from the moment of conception? The bm is much of a fascist making machine as parts of the media is in the US–and the msm is getting worse.
The grossest thing about that article is revealing that the affair partner had an abortion. What the f*ck, seriously. That’s nobody’s business but hers. It’s a shame he had the affair in the first place, but since he’s not running for office, it’s irrelevant to me.
they were careful to say did not keep the child so that could mean she put it up for adoption or that she terminated the pregnancy
With all of these stories, my first thought is which voters are actually going to make a decision based on this information. I could see The MAGA crowd seizing on it because they’ll take at face value and not even think about the hypocrisy. If they really care to distinguish it, they’ll try to make something out of the abortion reflecting on Harris’ values and she’ll allow third-term abortions…Yada Yada Yada. But their minds are already made up and they’re just looking for reasons to stream about Harris.
The liberals, like CB posters, are not going to be swayed against voting for Harris because her now-husband had an affair 20 years ago and the woman chose to terminate the pregnancy. We see this as a noisy distraction from the real issues.
The undecided are such a small sliver of the vote. Most of the people who care about extramarital affairs and abortions are already firmly in Trump’s camp. So I just don’t see this issue turning off a significant number of undecided voters from Harris.
If someone cared about extramarital affairs, why would they vote for Trump? He’s a convicted felon for goodness sake and that doesn’t deter his supporters. In this day in age of everything being available on the internet , it’s kind of hard to really shock people and for that to impact who they vote for.
I don’t get why the British are so invested in U.S. politics. Most Americans don’t give a rat’s ass about British politics. A tabloid paper in the U.S. would not run a story about an old affair of a spouse of a U.K candidate for office.
It just annoys me that the British papers seem so into America’s business when they have plenty of problems of their own there to cover.
The British media seem more interested in this story than the American media.
I think this is smart. There’s a lot going on and a lot of good energy for the campaign right now. Get that out there now, and nobody can make a big deal out of it later.
They’re kidding, right? This is coming from the party whose leader and nominee for the presidency has cheated on multiple wives and brags about grabbing women by the p*ssy? The Rethugs have really lost the plot, but hey, this gives the public another chance to revisit all of Babyhands’ vile misogynistic comments.
If my calculations are correct, this would qualify Doug for GOP nomination of some sort.
Interesting that it’s a British tabloid pushing the news as well… doing dirty work for powerful people..