Kamala Harris is in the final stages of vetting potential vice presidential running mates, but is it the candidate herself who needs another look?
Over the weekend, Harris’ husband, Doug Emhoff, was forced to admit that he had an affair while he was married to his first wife – and reports indicate that piece of opposition research may just be the tip of the iceberg for the Harris campaign.
On Monday’s show, Megyn was joined by Mark Halperin, founder of the Wide World of News Substack, to discuss the Emhoff affair and what it means for the Harris campaign moving forward.
Emhoff’s Affair
The Daily Mail published a report on Saturday that accused the second gentleman of cheating on his first wife, Kerstin Emhoff, with Najen Naylor, a nanny who was also a teacher at his daughter Ella Emhoff’s school.
During the affair, Naylor reportedly got pregnant and a “close friend with direct knowledge of the affair and pregnancy” told The Daily Mail that she “did not keep the child.” It is unclear exactly what was meant by that statement.
When approached by the DailyMail.com at her home in the Hamptons, Naylor did not comment on the report, except to say, “I’m kind of freaked out right now.” Emhoff, meanwhile, released a statement acknowledging the relationship. “During my first marriage, Kerstin and I went through some tough times on account of my actions,” he said. “I took responsibility, and in the years since, we worked through things as a family and have come out stronger on the other side.”
His ex-wife also weighed in. “Doug and I decided to end our marriage for a variety of reasons, many years ago,” she said in a statement. “He is a great father to our kids, continues to be a great friend to me and I am really proud of the warm and supportive blended family Doug, Kamala, and I have built together.”
According to Politico, Harris knew about the affair prior to marrying Emhoff in 2014 and the extramarital relationship was also known to those who vetted her prior to being selected as Joe Biden’s running mate in 2020.
Is Emhoff a Hypocrite?
As a rule, Megyn does not believe the past behavior of a politician’s spouse is particularly relevant. “I’ve got to be honest, I don’t really give a sh-t about Doug Emhoff and his first marriage or what happened between these two who wound up friends,” she said.
But this revelation is relevant, in her view, because of how Emhoff has portrayed himself. “What I do care about is his preaching and lecturing to the rest of us on what it means to be toxically masculine and how he is going to be the spokesman to undo that,” Megyn explained. “Is it toxic masculinity to eff around on your first wife with your children’s nanny and then get her pregnant? Because that seems more toxic to me than some of the things he might call that.”
Megyn noted that Emhoff is “out there constantly playing the charming, loving husband, the guy that all women could respect and would want to spend time with, not a threat at all to anybody else’s marriage and, really, the judger of all men.” The claim seems to be that “he understands toxic masculinity,” she continued, “in a way that Trump and MAGA do not” because “they’re #PartOfTheProblem.”
One such example: A March 2023 interview with MSNBC’s Jonathan Capehart in which Emhoff claimed that being second gentleman made him realize there is “too much toxicity” among men.
CAPEHART: Can we just talk about masculinity for a moment? Has being second gentleman changed your view of perceived gender roles or what it means to be a man?
EMHOFF: This is something I have thought about a lot, something I’ve spoken about a lot. There’s too much of toxicity– masculine toxicity out there. And we’ve kind of confused what it means to be a man, what it means to be masculine, where you’ve got this trope out there where you have to be tough, and angry, and lash out to be strong. It’s just the opposite. You know, strength is how you show your love for people.
Halperin agreed that Emhoff has some explaining to do. “I agree with you that it happened a while ago, it’s his personal life, there is a presumption of grace, he’s not the candidate,” he said. “But I also agree with your point that he is way out there on issues related to this, and he should sit for an interview and explain himself and talk about how he reconciles his public statements, like [that one], with his own conduct.”
What Comes Next
While Harris has been enjoying a honeymoon phase since announcing her candidacy to replace Biden, Halperin believes rougher waters are ahead. “Top Democrats tell me that the big story here is not will they get the vetting right on the vice president but have they sufficiently vetted their accidental presidential nominee,” he shared. “People make the mistake all the time of saying, ‘You’ve been governor of Texas, you’ve been governor of Arkansas, you’ve been vice president: of course, you’ve been vetted; of course, your background is clean now.’”
History shows that is not necessarily true. “It’s not the case, and we’ve seen examples of this with George W. Bush when he ran for president and Bill Clinton when he ran for president,” Halperin concluded. “And there is concern that no one has looked enough into her background to say, with 90 days to go, could one disclosure – that wouldn’t hurt Donald Trump because Donald Trump and Bill Clinton play by different rules – threaten to have an end-game surprise that could cost them the White House?”
You can check out Megyn’s full interview with Halperin by tuning in to episode 855 on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you like to listen. And don’t forget that you can catch The Megyn Kelly Show live on SiriusXM’s Triumph (channel 111) weekdays from 12pm to 2pm ET.