Doug Emhoff Reveals What World Leaders ‘Whispered’ Him During the Olympics About Biden Dropping Out and His Wife Kamala as Nominee
Doug Emhoff revealed what world leaders told him during the Olympics about his wife Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign.
The second gentleman led the US delegation to the closing ceremony of the Summer Games, while Harris campaigned in the United States.
“I can’t tell you,” Emhoff said, “how many leaders here have whispered to me, ‘Thank you. You have to win.’
He made his comments during a fundraising event in Paris for his wife’s campaign, the Washington Post reported.
Doug Emhoff took a selfie with French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte during the women’s basketball final at the Olympic Games
Jill Biden was originally set to headline, but Emhoff took over after Joe Biden withdrew from the presidential race.
Judith Pisar — the mother of Secretary of State Antony Blinken — co-hosted the fundraiser, which was for Americans living abroad. It raised $285,000.
Emhoff’s comment echoed a story that Joe Biden often tells about his interactions with the global community. President Biden claims that after winning the 2020 election, he reassured his fellow world leaders that America was “back” after Donald Trump pursued a more isolationist strategy.
Biden also claimed that world leaders repeatedly told him he had to defeat Trump in 2024.
“There is not a major international meeting that I attend until this is over, and I have attended many, more than most presidents have attended in three and a half years, that a world leader does not take me aside as I am leaving and say, ‘He can’t win. You can’t let him win,’” Biden told Time magazine.
Biden dropped out of the race in July after heavy pressure from Democrats, who feared he would lose the White House and led his party to defeat in the House and Senate elections.
Harris won enough delegates to replace him as the Democratic nominee, elevating Emhoff’s profile from vice president’s wife to potentially the first first gentleman of the United States.
He seemed ready for the upcoming elections and spoke enthusiastically about what was to come.
Doug Emhoff with the women’s soccer team after their gold medal win
French President Emmanuel Macron and his deputy Douglas Emhoff cheer during the second half of the women’s gold medal match between the United States and France
During the fundraiser, Emhoff also said he “can’t wait” to see Harris debate Trump.
He also praised his wife’s choice of running mate: Minnesota Governor Tim Walz.
“We got our ticket!” he said. “She made the right choice,” he added. “You can see the chemistry between them.”
But he had other tasks in Paris than just politics.
Emhoff, who is Jewish, attended events aimed at combating anti-Semitism and was a cheerleader for Team USA.
He cheered on the men’s basketball team in their surprise victory over Serbia.
That game featured LeBron James, who plays for the LA Lakers, Emhoff’s team, and Stephen Curry, who plays for the Golden State Warriors, Harris’ team.
Emhoff was also on hand — along with French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte — and host Jimmy Fallon to watch the U.S. team defeat France to win gold in women’s basketball.
He posted a selfie with the Macrons during the match.
The second gentleman was in the stands as the women’s soccer team won its first gold medal since 2012. And he cheered from the sidelines during the track and field events.
There were also some sad events.
Prince Albert II of Monaco, King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden, his wife Queen Silvia, former Queen Sofia of Spain and American Second Sir Doug Emhoff attend the closing ceremony
Second Lord Doug Emhoff and Mayor Anne Hidalgo of Paris commemorate the anniversary of the 1982 terrorist attack on a Jewish restaurant
Doug Emhoff bought a falafel sandwich on the streets of Paris
Emhoff joined Parisians in commemorating the terrorist attack on a Jewish restaurant by a splinter group of the PLO in 1982.
The attack killed six people, including two Americans, and injured 22 people.
In his role as second gentleman, Emhoff spoke at a UNESCO roundtable, where he said the Biden administration is working with Congress to fund a $2.2 million grant for UNESCO’s international program for Holocaust and Genocide education.
Emhoff has embraced his faith and has become the most important spokesperson on anti-Semitism within the board.
“Jews — Jews like me — live in fear,” Emhoff said in Paris. “I love being Jewish. And I love the joy that comes with being Jewish. And I don’t let anyone tell me how to be Jewish, or what to do with being Jewish.”