The Democratic National Convention this week has served as a huge source of energy for Democrats, a tribute to President Joe Biden’s legacy, and a celebration of him passing the torch to Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate Tim Walz.
Moreover, in addition to spotlighting the Democratic ticket’s eligibility for the highest office in the land, and as they have argued, to save democracy, the week-long event has also spotlighted their adoring families.
On Wednesday night, the Minnesota governor’s 17-year-old son Gus, who has a non-verbal learning and anxiety disorder, as well as ADHD, stole the show when he emotionally supported his dad through his big speech with chants of, “That’s my dad!”
Meanwhile, the vice president has been supported not only by her husband Doug Emhoff, who gave a heartfelt speech, her stepkids Ella and Cole, and her family, but also, her husband’s ex-wife, Kerstin Emhoff, a longtime supporter of hers.
Emhoff and his ex-wife were married from 1992 to 2008, and after he married Harris in 2014, the film producer and PRETTYBIRD CEO has continuously supported her political career, and defended her. Scroll below to see how.
Celebrating herstory
When Harris was inaugurated as the first woman vice president in the history of the United States, not only did she have her husband and kids by her side, but also Kerstin, who cheered on from the crowd.
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She also shared photos on Instagram from the special occasion, with captions such as “Here we go!” and “This is real. So excited behind the mask!”
She came to Harris’ defense
After Donald Trump’s running mate J.D. Vance’s offensive 2021 comments about “childless cat ladies” went viral and raised ire among several high-profile figures and beyond, Kerstin came to Kamala’s defense.
She said in a statement: “These are baseless attacks. For over 10 years, since Cole and Ella were teenagers, Kamala has been a co-parent with Doug and I,” adding: “She is loving, nurturing, fiercely protective, and always present. I love our blended family and am grateful to have her in it.”
In his sexist spiel, Vance argued that the country is being run by a “bunch of childless cat ladies who are miserable at their own lives and the choices that they’ve made, and so they wanna make the rest of the country miserable, too,” and using not only Harris but also Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez as examples, maintained: “The entire future of the Democrats is controlled by people without children.”
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The statement was not only offensive but incorrect; though AOC doesn’t have children of her own, Harris has been a stepmom to Ella and Cole since marrying their dad ten years ago, plus Buttigieg and his husband Chasten Buttigieg are parents to twins Joseph August “Gus” and Penelope Rose, who they adopted in 2021.
Stepping out for Harris Walz
Kerstin has been part of the Harris entourage since the DNC started, and has shared several enthusiastic Instagram posts and tweets from Chicago. After one X user suggested: “Kamala’s husband’s ex-wife is supporting her more enthusiastically than Trump’s current wife is,” she tweeted back: “Damn right.”
She has also shared sweet updates from the convention on her Instagram, including a photo of her with the crowd behind her, which she captioned: “Who’s here? [winking emoji] So excited for this week!” plus a photo with Cole, Ella, plus Walz, of which she said: “Meeting MN Governor @timwalz @gwenwalz and the kids, it was like new members of the family!”
