Doug Emhoff is America's first second gentleman. In Paris, he showed what that means

Asma Khalid

November 14, 2021 / 4:00 am

It was a light-hearted moment at the end of the first diplomatic trip abroad for Vice President Kamala Harris and her husband, Doug Emhoff.

Before she got on Air Force Two to return to Washington, Harris, who loves to cook, made a quick stop at E. Dehillerin, the iconic purveyor of cookware.

"I am looking around, but I want to buy a pot," Harris told the pool of reporters in tow, as she gazed up at rows and rows of copper pots hanging from pegboard, and Emhoff awkwardly stood by.

One asked whether the second gentleman is a good cook. "He's an apprentice," Harris said, chuckling. "She taught me during COVID," Emhoff said, "out of necessity after almost burning down our apartment, then I got a little bit better."

This was one of many examples where Emhoff, on his first diplomatic trip abroad with the vice president, showed how he is taking a very traditional approach to the unpaid and unheralded role as second spouse — and yet using it to send a message about gender equity, which he has chosen as a key priority.

Emhoff stays in the mold of dutiful political spouse

As Harris visited the Surenes American Cemetery to pay tribute to Americans who died in World War I and II, she peppered the tour guide with questions. Decorum dictated that it was the vice president's moment. Emhoff stood by, quiet, occasionally touching a grave marker with respect.

As America's first second gentleman, Emhoff is "following the usual patterns, playing the part of the dutiful political spouse — very supportive," said Katherine Jellison, a professor of women and gender history at Ohio University.

Americans still see Emhoff as a bit of a novelty, and wonder what he would be like as first spouse if Harris one day runs for office and wins, she said. For Europeans, he is less of a curiosity.

"For Europeans, they've seen male spouses of high-ranking officials, including heads of state, much more so than is the case here in the U.S.," Jellison said.

On the Paris trip, Emhoff had the traditional visit with French first lady Brigitte Macron, touring an art gallery. And he escorted Harris to a dinner for world leaders at the Élysée palace.

But one thing that's different for Emhoff from the second spouses who have gone before him: there's a distinct lack of curiosity about what he wears, Jellison said.

Emhoff has his own platform, too

Emhoff, an entertainment lawyer by trade, is teaching a law class at Georgetown University. But he spends most of his time promoting the administration's priorities, including COVID-19 vaccines. He has visited 30 states since January.

In Paris, while Harris' days were spent mainly in closed-door diplomatic meetings, Emhoff had more of an outward-facing cultural exchange.

In France, as Harris wrapped up a press conference and rushed off in a motorcade to discuss developments in Libya with a group of world leaders, Emhoff visited a culinary institute and met with students learning to cook and bake — a striking reversal of gender roles.

A day earlier, Emhoff held a listening session on gender equity while Harris was at the Paris Peace Forum, where she gave an address focused on growing inequality around the world.

"One of things I've learned from being married to Kamala Harris is that to be first in so many things is hard. She said once that breaking barriers involves breaking, and when you break something sometimes you get cut, and when you get cut, sometimes you bleed... But it's worth it," he said at the end of his event.

Emhoff said he thinks men need to do more to support women, something he said he's always done "on the regular" as "the right thing to do."