Now it looks like a one-two punch with kid-gloves. Vice President Kamala Harris drew puffballs from Mika Brzezinski on Morning Joe after CBS's Sunday Morning aired a soft-serve scoop of her hubby, "Second Gentleman" Douglas Emhoff. This show has been on a streak of puffball interviews with liberals this year.
CBS reporter Rita Braver offered no questions about Kamala's viral "word salads" or inquiries on why so many of her staff have quit over the last four years. There were no questions about Trump or the Republicans. This segment seemed designed just to warm up the image of Kamala and Doug.
The exchange CBS touted at the top was Emhoff denying he's an adviser to his wife. Oh come on! Nobody should believe the denials.
RITA BRAVER: I'll ask you the question that all political wives get and that is, are you also an advisor to your wife?
DOUGLAS EMHOFF: No.
BRAVER: No??
EMHOFF: I am her husband. She has plenty of people around her giving her advice on her role. I'm just there to support her, to be there for her.
BRAVER: When she gets classified briefings, aren't you curious?
EMHOFF: No. It`s surreal sometimes when I know she's in the Situation Room and I'll see something on the news, like, "Hmm, I wonder what's happening?" And then when it's not classified it could be, "Hey, you know, that might have been what was happening."
Back in 2010 on this program, Jim Axelrod interviewed George and Laura Bush, and she readily admitted she was a sounding board in tough times, like after Hurricane Katrina:
AXELROD: The long knives were out, which is when the White House can be at its loneliest. How does it work, Mrs. Bush? Do you offer a point of view, criticism, when you're in the heat of it?
LAURA BUSH: Sure. All of those things. But not a lot of criticism.
Braver then turned to First Lady Jill Biden for her gushing over how Emhoff "connects with people." Smooch smooch. Painting by numbers, Braver touted how Emhoff's Jewish background, and avoided Emhoff's harsh attack on Trump in May as "a known antisemite, who’s had dinner with antisemites, who said there was good people on both sides after Charlottesville."
BRAVER: Emhoff is not only the first second gentleman, he`s also the first Jewish person ever to be in the "big four," as the top two national couples are called. Emhoff and Harris proudly showed us a mezuzah, traditionally hung on doorposts of Jewish homes, that they placed on the Vice President`s house; and Emhoff has taken a leading role in fighting antisemitism.
KAMALA HARRIS: The work that Doug is doing is really extraordinary. I mean, fighting antisemitism, especially at this moment in time when so many people are living in fear and also just, you know, concerned about what's happening in our country.
EMHOFF: She said this issue found me --
HARRIS: It did
EMHOFF: -- and she literally said, "And now you've got to step up."
BRAVER: That was all before the October 7th Hamas attacks on Israelis. Now, Emhoff is front and center, standing in the Rose Garden with the President and Vice President.'
EMHOFF (May 20): I know a lot of us are feeling alone, afraid, and in pain. There is an epidemic of hate, including a crisis of antisemitism in our country and around the world.
[To Braver] I process that to this day as a Jewish person -- the impact, the emotional, the rage, all those things that so many of us feel.
Braver did not ask about pro-Hamas protests on campus or anti-Israel Democrats like AOC or Jamaal Bowman. This was the only time Braver threw a moderately challenging question -- on behalf of the pro-Hamas Palestinians:
BRAVER: What about Palestinian and Muslim Americans who say, "We`re hurting, too"?
EMHOFF: All hate is bad. The work I`ve been doing has centered not only on fighting antisemitism, but fighting hate of all kinds, letting people know that a hate against one is a hate against all.
That's pitch perfect with Karine Jean-Pierre talking points, always matching anti-Semitism and Islamophobia.
Braver ended with a question that could be seen as tricky. Have you thought about moving to California? Politicians (and their spouses) never suggest they're pondering defeat. Emhoff gave the usual "democracy is on the line" guff from the Democrats:
More than a little hyperbolic? But in tune with the press corps. Second Gentleman @DouglasEmhoff to Rita Braver on @CBSSunday: “We have to win this election. Literally, our country and our world depends on us winning this election.” pic.twitter.com/F4TCl4wdAJ
— Brent Baker 🇺🇦 🇮🇱 (@BrentHBaker) June 23, 2024
