Kamala Harris was all smiles and affection for her ‘beloved’ second gentleman, Doug Emhoff in the immediate aftermath of her crushing presidential election defeat.
But now that President Donald Trump has been sworn into office, for sore loser Harris, it is now all about the blame game, and her target has flipped to her ‘dead weight’ husband.
And as she weighs her political future – maybe a 2026 run for Governor of California or another try for the nation’s top job two years later – she has to consider whether Emhoff is an asset or a liability.
One source exclusively told DailyMail.com: ‘There’s plenty of blame to go around as far as Kamala is concerned and Doug has his share.
‘Doug did Kamala no favors during the election – frankly, he looked like a hypocritical a** after the bombshells that he had got his child’s nanny pregnant while married to his first wife and assaulted his ex-girlfriend on the heels of his “I am woman” crusade.’
Despite their brave united front at the inauguration and at President Jimmy Carter’s January 9 funeral, those close to the couple believe all is not ‘hunky dory’ between them.
And word is the husband of California girl Kamala has already signed up for a job with a Big Apple law firm which would require them to split their time between New York and San Francisco.
At Monday’s presidential inauguration, the couple presented a united front, though their expressions remained grim as they sat through Trump’s speech, their faces mirroring the tension.
Harris, wearing a black pantsuit with exposed zippers, sat stoically throughout the ceremony holding an inaugural program in her lap. She was seen crossing her wrists and pinching the program in her fingers as Trump delivered his address.
Emhoff similarly matched the disdain on his wife’s face but took it a step further – grimacing and shaking his head lightly when Trump promised to rename the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America.
The couple left the Capitol building together – briefly shaking hands with Trump and bidding Joe and Jill Biden farewell – with plans to return to California.
But now that Harris has been defeated, she’s reportedly looking to undergo a complete image overhaul to resuscitate her floundering political career – maybe at the expense of Emhoff.
As DailyMail.com exclusively reported, she plans to write a book which could give her finances a multi-million dollar boost.
Harris’s campaign suffered multiple setbacks after DailyMail.com exclusively reported a series of allegations surrounding Emhoff that Harris deftly brushed aside during the final stretch of her political journey.
Emhoff famously stepped away from his own prominent career as an attorney in California to fully support Harris’ political ambitions in 2020 – becoming hell-bent on perfecting his image as a ‘wife guy’.
But behind the carefully curated social media posts and campaign photos, even the strongest relationships face challenges.
The source said: ‘I see the signs that all is not hunky dory in the Harris household.
‘It’s not like she hasn’t had men help further her political career before,; the source said, referring to her affair with former San Francisco mayor Willie Brown.
‘But what does Doug do for her now?’
Those closest to her believe she will skip the race for California governor – which she believes is a ‘thankless, no-win job’ – and instead try for president again in 2028.
‘I was with her last week, when she was signing her desk,’ her former communications chief Ashley Etienne told DailyMail.com.
‘She told me: “You know me well enough to know that I’m not going to go away quietly”.’
Over the summer, DailyMail.com exclusively reported a series of allegations surrounding Emhoff that Harris attempted to brush aside during the final stretch of her political journey.
In August, we reported Emhoff had an affair with Najen Naylor, his daughter’s nanny, while still married to his first wife, film producer Kerstin Mackin – an illicit fling that allegedly resulted in a pregnancy and a subsequent miscarriage.
A source claimed Emhoff paid Naylor $80,000 in exchange for her signing a non-disclosure agreement and that the affair played a part in his 2009 divorce.
But the controversy didn’t end there. In October, a former girlfriend of Emhoff’s came forward, alleging a disturbing incident during an A-list event in Cannes, France, in May 2012.
According to her, Emhoff slapped her so hard in the face after he thought she was flirting with another man that the blow ‘spun her around,’ leaving her shocked and disoriented.
‘He comes up, turns me around by my right shoulder,’ she told DailyMail.com.
‘I’m completely caught off guard, I’m not bracing, I’m in four-inch heels, wearing a full-length gown and it’s between 2-3am. He slaps me so hard I spin around, and I’m in utter shock.’
Emhoff has since admitted the extramarital affair, saying: ‘During my first marriage, Kerstin and I went through some tough times on account of my actions.
‘I took responsibility, and in the years since, we worked through things as a family and have come out stronger on the other side.’
But he has denied, through an anonymous spokesperson, ever having slapped his girlfriend who said, ‘any suggestion that Doug would or has ever hit a woman is false.’
Emhoff also faced reports from his former colleagues at the Los Angeles law firm Venable, where he worked from 2006 to 2017.
They described a work culture marked by misogyny, claiming that Emhoff allegedly yelled expletives, held a man-only cocktail hour in the office, revoked work perks from women who didn’t flirt with him and preferred only young, attractive associates to accompany him in limousines to professional events.
Harris has never publicly commented on any of the allegations, instead choosing to shy away from the controversy.
But the Democrat’s golden girl – known for her relentless drive – is now tarnished and has now has to face the reality of her marriage potentially crumbling following her loss to Trump.
