Second gentleman Doug Emhoff on Thursday shared his feelings about Donald Trump’s regular personal attacks on his wife, Vice President Kamala Harris, as the White House race draws to a close.
“Well, as a husband, it pisses me off,” Emhoff told MSNBC’s “The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell.” “But as a first gentleman, you know, someone who hopes to be the first gentleman, married to the next president of the United States, we cannot be distracted by it.”
Emhoff said he has tuned out Trump’s insults as both he and the entire family are squarely focused on helping propel Harris to victory in next week’s election.
“No matter how I feel about it as her husband, I’ve got to put it to the side,” he said.
“We’re not going to let anything stop her from getting the truth out there and making sure that she is elected as the next president,” he continued.
Throughout the presidential campaign, Trump has repeatedly leveled personal insults against Harris, including calling her “lazy” — a racist trope to demean Black people. He has also described his Democratic rival as “low IQ” and called her a “stupid person.”
Apart from condemning the insults against his wife, Emhoff also took time to denounce Trump’s reported praise of Adolf Hitler.
Former Chief of Staff John Kelly told The Atlantic that Trump said he wanted his military leaders to be more like Hitler’s generals.
Kelly also recalled Trump saying “Hitler did some good things,” according to a book by CNN reporter Jim Sciutto.
Emhoff said “we should all be chilled to the bone” over the alleged remarks.
“We cannot have a president who has admires Adolf Hitler, we just can’t,” Emhoff said. “We need to move forward, we need to turn the page.”
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Emhoff has served as a top campaign surrogate for Harris. On Friday, Emhoff is due to deliver a speech in West Chester, Pennsylvania, to rally support for his wife in the crucial battleground state.