Emhoff’s reaction to hostage murders underscores unique way he speaks for Harris

The murders of six more Israeli hostages marked a critical new moment for Doug Emhoff, who’s speaking out on his own and Kamala Harris’ behalf, as only a Jewish American and the spouse of a presidential candidate can.

The murders of six more Israeli hostages marked a critical new moment for Doug Emhoff, who’s speaking out on his own and Kamala Harris’ behalf, as only a Jewish American and the spouse of a presidential candidate can. “In light of the retraumatizing of the tragedy of the weekend, speaking here, even though it’s so hard to do – this is a way that I can use this voice,” the second gentleman said Tuesday at a vigil for the hostages in Washington, DC. For Emhoff, it’s a reflection of historical circumstances: he has spoken often about how he reconnected to his Judaism after seeing the response he received when Joe Biden picked Kamala Harris for the ticket four years ago. Then as second gentleman, he felt compelled first by the rise in antisemitism and then the October 7 Hamas terror attacks to speak up about how much hurt he felt. Now, with his wife suddenly the Democratic nominee and both of them thrust more into the spotlight — and as the world approaches the anniversary of those attacks and Israel’s ensuing war in Gaza — friends and advisers say they’re seeing a man continuing to search for his own response to an issue that is policy, politics and personal all at once. And advisers and campaign aides are trying to match strategy with a principal whose emotions and determination have struck them in both his private comments and public remarks. As Donald Trump attacks Jews who vote for Harris as being self-hating, it was Emhoff who sat in the front row of Tuesday night’s vigil – brought together by an array of Washington-area Jewish groups and hosted at the Adas Israel synagogue – wiping tears from his eyes, then struggling to speak through his grief as he stepped to the microphone. “This is raw,” he said, telling the hundreds assembled he was there “as a fellow congregant, fellow mourner and as a Jew.”