At an event at a reproductive health clinic in Virginia on Tuesday, Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff was asked for his reaction to some of the names that former President Donald Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, has used to attack his wife, Vice President Kamala Harris, the frontrunner for the Democratic nomination.

In the days since President Joe Biden stepped aside from the ticket, clearing the way for Harris to take the top spot, Trump has called her “Lyin’ Kamala Harris” and “Dumb as a Rock” in posts on his social media account; at his rally on Saturday, the ex-president called the vice president — who he referred to as “Laughing Kamala” —  “stupid,” “crazy,” and “nuts”

Emhoff’s response was blunt, shaking his head and saying with a smirk: “That’s all he’s got?”

What You Need To Know

  • At an event in Virginia on Tuesday, Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff rebuffed attacks from former President Donald Trump and Republicans against Vice President Kamala Harris, the frontrunner for the Democratic nomination

  • "That's all he's got?" Emhoff quipped when asked for his reaction to the names Trump has called his wife

  • In the days since President Joe Biden stepped aside from the ticket, clearing the way for Harris to take the top spot, Trump has called her “Lyin’ Kamala Harris” and “Dumb as a Rock”; at a rally over the weekend, the former president called Harris “stupid,” “crazy,” and “nuts”

  • Emhoff praised Harris' efforts to "unite" the Democratic Party after Biden's exit and pledged that she will "prosecute the case against Donald Trump and his lies, his gaslighting"

"Look, you heard the vice president yesterday making the case against Donald Trump very clearly," Emhoff said, referencing Harris' remarks on Monday to staffers at her campaign headquarters. "Laid out the case directly and in a compelling fashion."

"But she also laid out a vision for the future, a vision where there's freedom, where we're not having to talk about these issues of today in this post-Dobbs hellscape that Donald Trump created," he continued, referencing the 2022 Supreme Court ruling that overturned the landmark Roe v. Wade decision. Trump nominated three of the justices that were part of the majority that overruled Roe during his sole White House term.

"We’re going to prosecute the case against Donald Trump and his lies, his gaslighting," Emhoff pledged. "During Covid, the dereliction of duty, inciting an insurrection and all those other things. We’re going to make that very clear, she’s going to be able to make that case. But we’re also going to move on from this type of environment ... where freedoms are taken away, where autonomy is taken away. Where they’re telling you you can’t read this book, they're telling you you can’t learn this fact, they’re telling you you can’t vote. All that is going to change and it must change."

Emhoff, the first second gentleman in U.S. history and first Jewish spouse of a president or vice president, became a prominent part of the Biden administration's plans to combat antisemitism in his role. He's expected to take on an even bigger role as his wife runs against Trump in November.

"You see the enthusiasm, you see the excitement, you saw the money raised, you saw the party coalesce," he told reporters on Tuesday. "You saw the broad base of support that she had in just one or two days, because she’s talking about an America that we all have a place in."

Since Biden's decision to step down on Sunday, Harris received the backing of the vast majority of Democratic Party officials, including former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, and potential challengers and possible running mate picks like California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper and more.

Her campaign also raised more than $100 million since Sunday and volunteers are signing up in droves, signaling Democratic enthusiasm.  

"Kamala Harris has united the party," he declared. "She’s going to unite the country. She’s going to earn this nomination. You see that happening. And she’s going to win this election."

Emhoff's visit to Meadow Reproductive Health and Wellness, a facility established in 2023 in response to the Dobbs decision to facilitate access to reproductive care for Virginians and those who live in states where abortion is restricted, per a Department of Health and Human Services official, was his first to a reproductive health care clinic. It follows Vice President Harris' visit to a Planned Parenthood clinic in Minnesota in March, which was the first visit by a president or vice president to an abortion clinic.

"I know my wife was very proud and honored to be the first president or vice president to visit a Planned Parenthood facility," Emhoff said during the roundtable, calling the patchwork of abortion restrictions in the wake of the Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization ruling "a full-blown crisis."

HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra called Harris a "leader within this administration" on abortion rights and reproductive health. Since Dobbs, Harris was tapped to lead the administration's efforts on protecting reproductive rights.

"We must restore the rights and access that we had under Roe v Wade," Becerra said.