Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff appeared on a fundraising livestream with his parents on Sunday, after it was revealed he had an affair with his children’s nanny during his first marriage.
Emhoff appeared with his parents Michael and Barbara on the Seniors for Harris fundraising livestream event to talk about his wife Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign.
The second gentleman surprised attendees on the livestream, blowing kisses to his parents and thanking them for the ‘lifetime’ of love and support from them.
‘I would not be who I am today but for you both and your example and how you just love us unconditionally no matter what, and you’ve always got our back,’ Emhoff said. ‘And that extends to the three of us, your kids and all of our kids our spouses, in my case ex-spouse and all Kamala’s family and it is a joy to behold.’
Emhoff recalled that he was in Los Angeles when the news about President Joe Biden ending his presidential campaign and endorsing Harris broke.
He said he was with his parents and his ex-wife Kerstin when he was experiencing the whirlwind of activity that came after.
‘I was with my parents and Cole and Greenley… we got to experience what the whole country was seeing at the same time and it was quite surreal, because I’m there and we’re actually with Kerstin and actually I was making calls and watching and trying to catch up and stay connected to what was happening in DC,’ he said.
Doug’s father Michael Emhoff praised Kamala Harris’ campaign rhetoric during the call with their son and senior supporters.
‘The one we like best was, “We’re not going from the back,”‘ he said as his son chuckled.
‘No, we’re not!’ his mother Barbara agreed.
Emhoff, frequently described as ‘the happiest person in Washington, DC,’ has earned a lot of good-will among Democrats due to his earnest, if not sometimes cheesy, participation in the political circus.
Since Kamala Harris was appointed by Democrats as the presidential nominee to replace Joe Biden, Emhoff has been more visible.
Emhoff spoke about his family after the Daily Mail reported Saturday morning that he had an affair with his children’s nanny and got her pregnant during his first marriage with Kerstin Emhoff.
Emhoff, 59, and movie producer ex-wife Kerstin, 57, ended their 16-year marriage in 2009 when she discovered the affair, according to sources.
The second gentleman responded to news of the affair in a public statement first released to CNN.
‘During my first marriage, Kerstin and I went through some tough times on account of my actions,’ Emhoff said in a statement to CNN regarding his first wife, Kerstin Emhoff. ‘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 met Harris in 2013 when she was the California Attorney General and the couple got married in 2014.