Kerstin Emhoff, the former wife of Kamala Harris’s husband, said she was “so proud” after Tuesday’s presidential debate against Donald Trump.
“She killed it!!! So proud!!!” she wrote in an Instagram Story following the debate, along with a photograph of herself wearing a hat and sweater reading “Harris” and “Walz,” in reference to Minnesota Governor Tim Walz—Vice President Harris’ 2024 running mate.
Kerstin Emhoff was married to Doug Emhoff between 1992 and 2008. The couple have two children, Cole and Ella. After divorcing, Kerstin Emhoff chose to keep her married name and remains on good terms with Doug.
Doug Emhoff married Harris, then the attorney general of California, in Santa Barbara in 2014.
On August 20, Kerstin Emhoff shared a photograph of herself on Instagram at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago with the caption: “Who’s here? So excited for this week! 🇺🇸 #harriswalz2024.”
Three days later, she posted another photograph showing her with Doug Emhoff, to which she added: “After 33 years of unwavering friendship and two amazing kids, I’m incredibly proud of this man and our blended family. This week has exceeded all my expectations. I’m excited to spend the next 74 days working hard to help Doug and Kamala win this November!”
Stock photo showing Kerstin Emhoff and daughter Ella Emhoff attending W Magazine 50th Anniversary presented By Lexus at Shun Lee on October 12, 2022 in New York City. Kerstin Emhoff praised Kamala Harris’s debating performance on Tuesday in an Instagram post.
Dimitrios Kambouris/GETTY
The post sparked praise from other Instagram users, with several suggesting Kerstin Emhoff be given the title of “First Co-Parent” if Harris defeats Trump in November.
One wrote: “First Co-Parent Presidential Family. The Harris-Emhoff family would be the first in the White House to not only make history but also reflect and celebrate the evolving nature of American families, showing that leadership can emerge from diverse and non-traditional family structures.”
A second said: “Can we make a new official title? First Co-Parent.”
Newsweek contacted the 2024 Kamala Harris and Donald Trump presidential campaigns for comment via email on Wednesday outside of regular business hours.
During an often heated debate, Harris and Trump clashed over a range of issues including abortion access, illegal immigration and the attendance at their respective rallies.
Harris mocked Trump following reports some attendees had been leaving his rallies before they had finished. She said: “I’m actually going to do something very unusual and I’m going to invite you to attend one of Donald Trump’s rallies, because it’s a really interesting to watch.
“You will see during the course of his rallies, he talks about fictional characters like Hannibal Lector. He will talk about windmills cause cancer, and what you will also notice is that people start leaving his rallies early out of exhaustion and boredom.”
Trump hit back, commenting: “Let me respond to this, to the rallies. She said people start leaving, people don’t go to her rallies. There’s no reason to go. And the people that do go, she’s busing them in and paying them to be there, and then showing them in a different light. So she can’t talk about that. People don’t leave my rallies. We have the biggest rallies, the most incredible rallies in the history of politics.”
Following the debate Harris’s odds of winning November’s presidential election improved according to 20 leading bookmakers.
