There are two big indicators of Kamala Harris’s success and the fear her success generates. One, Harris’s enemies have already started to “Meghan Markle” her in the press, itemizing the cost of her jewelry (how dare a Black woman have nice things), claiming she’s mean to staff (she makes white women cry!) and overanalyzing her face, body, laugh, smile and body language. The second indicator is that the knives are out for Doug Emhoff. If they can’t get to Kamala, they’ll try to get Doug.

Doug’s first marriage ended years before he even met Kamala. They’ve both spoken about their meet-cute (they were set up by a mutual friend) and how they fell for each other quickly. Little is known about Doug’s first marriage other than Kerstin Emhoff and Doug still get along well, Kerstin a big cheerleader for Kamala, and Kerstin and Doug’s two adult kids love Kamala and they’re a great blended family. While I accept that there’s interest and curiosity in Kamala and Doug’s marriage – she is running for president after all, it comes with the territory – I do not accept that we need to know intimate details about Doug’s first marriage. Whatever happened, it happened two decades ago and let Kerstin and Doug have their privacy. Well, they came after Doug and there’s reporting about an affair. Doug cheated on Kerstin, and now Doug and Kerstin have both released statements:

Vice President Kamala Harris’ husband Doug Emhoff acknowledged Saturday in a statement to CNN that he had an affair during his first marriage after the alleged details of the relationship were published by a British tabloid.

“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,” Emhoff said in a statement provided exclusively to CNN.

The statement comes after the Daily Mail reported that Emhoff had a relationship with one of his then-young daughter’s teachers, which resulted in the end of his first marriage. The relationship and the circumstances around it were known four years ago to Joe Biden’s vetting committee as Harris was herself going through the running mate process before being picked for the ticket, a person familiar with the conversations told CNN. The person also said that Emhoff had told Harris about the affair well before they got married. The relationship ended years before Emhoff began dating Harris.

The Daily Mail reported that the woman became pregnant and that, according to a close friend, she “did not keep the child.” The woman, whom CNN is not naming, did not return a voicemail on Saturday afternoon looking for comment. Brian Fallon, a spokesperson for the Harris campaign, declined comment beyond the statement. Asked whether the campaign was disputing the basic facts reported by the Daily Mail, Fallon also declined comment.

Kerstin Emhoff said in a statement Saturday, “Doug and I decided to end our marriage for a variety of reasons, many years ago. He is a great father to our kids, continues to be a great friend to me and I am really proud of the warm and supportive blended family Doug, Kamala, and I have built together.”

Doug Emhoff has long regretted the circumstances and was aware that they could become public, a separate source familiar with the second gentleman said.

[From CNN]

Yeah, that’s enough information for me. I’m fine with Doug’s statement and Kerstin’s. I hate that Kerstin is being dragged into it too, she’s not running for elected office (and neither is Doug). The optimist in me says that if THIS is the worst they’ve got, then Kamala Harris is in really good shape. Oh, no, VP Harris married a guy who cheated on his first wife. It’s not a flattering story for Doug, but also – people make mistakes, he owned it and it’s between Doug and Kerstin. VP Harris is running against a guy who cheated on multiple wives with multiple women. Donald Trump’s sexual encounter with Stormy Daniels led to hush money, bribery, threats, a criminal trial and felony convictions for Trump.

Photos courtesy of Cover Images, Backgrid, Kamala’s IG.