Left-leaning domestic violence prevention groups and legacy media figures have touted Doug Emhoff, the husband of Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris, as a positive example of masculinity, yet they have remained silent after Emhoff faced an accusation of domestic violence.
Last week, The Daily Mail reported that Emhoff assaulted his then-girlfriend while waiting in a valet line at the May 2012 Cannes Film Festival in France. The Daily Mail, citing three friends of the alleged victim, reported that Emhoff struck the woman in the face so hard she spun around.
One of her friends said the woman called him immediately after the incident, sobbing, while in her cab. A second friend also said the woman told her about the purported assault at the time. The third friend said the woman recounted the story in 2018, when Harris had grilled then-Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh about sexual assault allegations.
While The Daily Mail did not name the then-girlfriend or the friends, it published images that the friends provided as corroboration that Emhoff had dated the woman.
Neither the Harris campaign, nor the White House responded to The Daily Signal’s request for comment, though an Emhoff spokesperson denied the incident.
“This report is untrue,” the spokesperson told Semafor. “Any suggestion that he would, or has ever, hit a woman is false.”
The domestic abuse accusation comes after The Daily Mail previously reported that Emhoff cheated on his first wife and the mother of his two children around 2008, allegedly impregnating his daughter’s nanny. Emhoff admitted the affair in August. He married Harris in 2014.
Kerstin Emhoff, who has publicly praised her ex-husband, has co-parented her children with her ex-husband and with Harris. She has endorsed Harris.
Praise for Emhoff
Legacy media personalities and domestic violence prevention groups have praised Emhoff as a positive example of masculinity.
Jen Psaki, a former press secretary for President Joe Biden and a current MSNBC host, praised Emhoff for having “reshaped the perception of masculinity,” calling him an “incredibly supportive spouse.”
Catherine Rampell, a Washington Post columnist, praised Emhoff as a “progressive sex symbol” and “the modern female fantasy.” Rampell wrote that “Emhoff appears to be a genuine mensch with an impressive career. He’s smitten with his wife and supports her ambitions, as is obvious from his convention speech and their sweet interactions on the campaign trail.”
“What. A. Hunk,” she wrote.
Time magazine Editor-at-Large Belinda Luscombe praised “The Doug Emhoff Model of Masculinity” in analyzing the second gentleman’s speech at the Democratic National Convention in August.
“He demonstrated a winning self-confidence by making fun of the goofy nervous first-date voicemail he left on Harris’ phone, and joking about his mother being the only person in the world who thinks Harris married up,” she wrote. “Unlike many a divorced dad, he showed no bitterness to his ex-wife, even thanking her from the stage.”
The National Women’s Law Center, which runs the TIME’S UP Legal Defense Fund to represent alleged victims of sexual assault, invited Emhoff to speak at its 50th anniversary gala in November 2022.
The law center’s action fund quoted Emhoff saying that he would discuss abortion with his son, including three emoji of clapping hands.
Uncharacteristic Silence
The Daily Signal reached out to Psaki, Rampell, and Luscombe with questions about whether they still consider Emhoff a good example of masculinity and a sex symbol after the latest accusations and the confirmation that he cheated on his wife with the nanny. They did not respond to requests for comment.
The National Women’s Law Center did not respond to questions about the accusations. Its Action Fund is spending millions to support Harris in battleground states.
The National Organization for Women, which has also endorsed Harris, did not respond to The Daily Signal’s request for comment.
The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence declined to comment. The National Resource Center on Domestic Violence did not respond to a request for comment.
Conservative-leaning groups did comment on the domestic violence claims, however.
“These are troubling allegations, and frankly, it’s not surprising they aren’t getting immense attention, due to his high-profile media-darling spouse,” Andrea Bottner, vice president of external relations at Independent Women’s Forum, told The Daily Signal on Tuesday. “It is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and we should treat allegations like these seriously.”
“Empowered women, and respectful men, do not tolerate domestic violence,” May Mailman, director of the Independent Women’s Law Center, told The Daily Signal on Tuesday. “I thought that was the aim of #MeToo, empowering women to band together, speak up, and say no more.”
“Instead of that, I find it completely infantilizing of women to say that we should support some guy as a masculine hero—oh, don’t mind his past—simply because he’s Kamala’s husband,” Mailman added.