Top United States media outlets are staying silent on an allegation of assault against Doug Emhoff, the husband of Kamala Harris.
In an explosive story published Wednesday, the Daily Mail reported that Emhoff had drunkenly and “forcefully slapped” his ex-girlfriend in 2012 at the Cannes Film Festival in France because he thought she was flirting with another man. Three friends confirmed the story to the Daily Mail, which did not identify Emhoff’s ex-girlfriend and only revealed that she is a “successful New York attorney.”
The publication included a photo of the couple, with the woman’s face blurred out, as well as a travel itinerary and email showing details about their stay in Nice, France.
The Daily Wire reached out to both the White House and the Harris campaign without response. An unnamed spokesman for Emhoff told Semafor that the report is “untrue” and that “any suggestion that he would or has ever hit a woman is false.”
The Daily Mail’s story broke Wednesday morning, yet as of Thursday afternoon, The New York Times, The Washington Post, CNN, and other top media outlets had not covered the matter at all. These outlets did not immediately respond to requests for comment, and their silence has prompted criticism from commentators like Megyn Kelly and Chris Cuomo, who suggest this shows a double standard.
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Some of The Washington Post’s most recent coverage of Emhoff includes the headlines: “Doug Emhoff is all over the campaign trail. Melania Trump is not” and “Emhoff shares how he first met Harris,” as well as the opinion pieces “Doug Emhoff, modern day sex symbol,” and “the ground-breaking normalcy of Doug Emhoff.”
The New York Times has recently published pieces on Emhoff that include “The Rise of the Husband,” “Doug Emhoff, Poking Fun at Himself, Talks Up Kamala Harris,” and “Ella Emhoff Had A Busy new York Fashion Week,” a piece about his daughter.
And CNN has similarly published flattering pieces on the second gentleman, such as “how Doug Emhoff is amplifying his wife’s historic presidential bid” and “Emhoff’s reaction to hostage murders underscores unique way he speaks for Harris.”
Emhoff and the ex-girlfriend, whom the Daily Mail identified as “Jane,” reportedly met on a dating website and had been dating about three months before the alleged assault took place.
Shortly before the trip, the Daily Mail reported, Emhoff allegedly revealed to “Jane” that he had an affair with his nanny while still married to his ex-wife (Emhoff admitted in August to impregnating his former nanny while cheating on his first wife).
“Jane” viewed the tale as a “red flag,” a friend told the Daily Mail, but “the trip was booked.”
The allegations about Emhoff come amid media suggestions that Emhoff embodies a positive form of masculinity, in contrast to Republican men: MSNBC host Jen Psaki sparked a backlash by telling Emhoff that he is reshaping perceptions of masculinity.
Jen Psaki to Second Gentleperson “Doug”: You have “reshaped the perception of masculinity.” 🤢 pic.twitter.com/Hsd3EIWkZW
— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) September 29, 2024
And another MSNBC contributor discussed how “we’ve got two different views of masculinity… this kind of alpha, retro view of masculinity that we’re seeing from the Trump campaign and then Tim Walz and Doug Emhoff who are both professional men but in supportive roles of a woman…”
MSNBC contributor: “We’ve got two different views of masculinity… this kind of alpha, retro view of masculinity that we’re seeing from the Trump campaign and then Tim Walz and Doug Emhoff who are both professional men but in supportive roles of a woman…”pic.twitter.com/aenr3X7GqB
— Mary Margaret Olohan (@MaryMargOlohan) September 27, 2024