Emhoff sprinkles references to his Jewish heritage into DNC speech
Jacob Magid is The Times of Israel's US bureau chief
CHICAGO — Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff sprinkles references to his Jewish heritage into his speech on the second night of the Democratic National Convention.
Emhoff — the first Jewish spouse of a president or vice president — recalls taking the bus to Hebrew school, bringing Vice President Kamala Harris to High Holiday services and touting her Passover brisket as he tells the story of his upbringing and the growth of his relationship with the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee.
“Over the past decade, Kamala has connected me more deeply to my faith — even though it’s not the same as her’s,” says Emhoff.
“Kamala has fought against antisemitism and all forms of hate, and she encouraged me to take up fight that’s personal to me,” he continues.
Emhoff also cracks several jokes — one about how his mother is the only person in the world who thinks Kamala is the lucky one for marrying him; and another about his grandmother’s plastic-covered couches.
He talks about Harris’s close relationship to his two children from his first marriage, highlighting how they call her “Momala.”