UNITED STATES - AUGUST 22: Vice President Kamala Harris, Democratic presidential nominee, and second gentleman Doug Emhoff celebrate on the final night of the Democratic National Convention at the United Center in Chicago, Ill., on Thursday, August 22, 2024. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call via AP Images)
‘BADASS WARRIOR’
Doug Emhoff is gearing up to make history as America’s original first gentleman, if Kamala Harris wins in November. He’s got a vision — free from toxic masculinity — to make the most of it.
- Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff hailed his wife, Vice President Kamala Harris, as a “badass warrior” during his first in-depth interview since the Democratic National Convention with Pod Save America. He also sketched out his views on stepping into the role of presidential spouse, as a man, for the very first time in U.S. history — a job that sets him up to become a national role model for America’s feminist dudes.
- “Let’s talk about gender issues. I’ve talked a lot about gender equity, pay equity, family leave, childcare,” Emhoff said. “I spent two years talking to men about why the Dobbs issue and reproductive freedom, and this crisis that Dobbs has caused is an issue for all of us, not just for women. And then being the first Jew … lean into that. That’s how I approached it, and that’s how I’ll continue to approach it.”
- Emhoff said he stepped away from his successful legal career to become a political spouse “without bitterness.” The president’s spouse takes on an unpaid position as an advocate for the administration’s policies while also leading personal initiatives — think former First Lady Michelle Obama’s public health campaign to end childhood obesity, or First Lady Jill Biden’s efforts to boost federal research into women’s health. We don’t know yet what Emhoff would make of the role, but one duty is non-negotiable: “Where can I be most useful to her as her husband, support her, love her as always?” Emhoff said.
Emhoff and Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN), Harris’s affable running mate, have the opportunity to take a stand against toxic masculinity and incel culture in America — and the dubiously macho vibes radiated by disgraced former President Donald Trump and GOP veep nominee Sen. JD Vance (R-OH).
- The contrast with the vision of American manhood projected by the Trump-Vance ticket couldn’t be more stark. Aside from the numerous horrible things Trump has said about women, the former president has been found liable for sexual abuse, and convicted of crimes related to covering up hush money payments to a porn star prior to the 2016 election. Vance talks obsessively about childless women, and thinks that American men have their masculinity “suppressed.” MAGA misogynists have relentlessly attacked Ella Emhoff, Doug’s daughter, for looking extremely cool at the DNC. And the Trump campaign is working to court disaffected young male voters, hopping on podcasts with conservative influencers who directly influence millions of Gen Zers.
- Anthony Polcari, a DC-based influencer promoting “vibrant masculinity” counter to toxic masculinity (who is better known as Tony P) said he thinks Emhoff and Walz have the winning proposition in this national debate over the soul of the American guy. “Their ability to engage with people with warmth and kindness, while consistently demonstrating strength and toughness in defending and advocating for those who are hurt and may not have a voice, is inspiring,” Polcari told What A Day — adding that he plans to vote for Harris-Walz.
And that’s not to even mention Donald Trump’s unnerving views about reproductive rights, and how he wants to take them away from you. Sounds like fragile masculinity to me.
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- JD Vance on lowering Americans' daycare costs.
NEWS NEWS NEWS
Hunter Biden dealt with his own legal troubles on Thursday, pleading guilty in federal court to nine tax offenses sans a deal with prosecutors. The president’s son had previously tried to resolve the tax evasion case with a so-called “Alford plea,” which would’ve allowed him to maintain his innocence while accepting punishment.
The alleged 14-year-old shooter who killed four people in a Georgia high school on Wednesday will make a virtual court appearance on Friday, according to a spokesperson for the Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice. He’s being held at a youth detention center, despite plans to be charged as an adult.
Noted roadkill enthusiast Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is suing the Wisconsin Elections Board to remove his name from the battleground state’s ballot, in an effort to boost Trump’s chances there. “The only way he gets to not be on the ballot is to up and die, which I’m assuming he has no plans on doing,” WEC chair Ann Jacobs, who’s a Democrat, said last week. “The statute is absolutely clear on this.”
Donald Trump is turning Elon Musk’s crackpot ideas into official policy positions, outlining a “government efficiency commission” proposed by the conspiracy-peddling billionaire as well as a series of economic proposals. Those proposals? You’ll be shocked to hear that they include massive corporate tax cuts and deregulation, among other things that benefit the ultra-rich.
North Korean spies are secretly scoring low-level jobs at IT companies in the United States, netting hundreds of millions of dollars for the authoritarian regime each year, according to the Justice Department. So is THIS why it’s been impossible to find jobs on LinkedIn?
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