‘Call Kamala’: Doug Emhoff describes ‘whirlwind’ moment he learned of Biden race exit

Second gentleman tells LGBTQ+ fundraiser his ‘phone was on fire’ after wife Kamala Harris entered spotlight

Doug Emhoff has described being caught by surprise by the timing of Joe Biden’s announcement last Sunday that he was dropping out of his re-election campaign, telling an LGBTQ+ fundraiser that he was in an exercise class in Los Angeles when he heard the news.

Emhoff, 59, the husband of US vice-president Kamala Harris, explained to attendees on a fundraising call organized by a group called Black Gay and Queer Men for Harris that he was with “a gay couple friend” having “coffee, messing around and talking” when people started coming up to them.