Before Doug Emhoff explained the embarrassing moment that led to his first date with Kamala Harris, he began his speech at the 2024 Democratic National Convention by introducing his “big, beautiful blended family,” with “a special shout-out to my mother” — pronouncing “mother” as would Harvey Fierstein, another Brooklyn-born Jew: “muthah.” “My mother is the only person in the whole world that thinks Kamala is the lucky one for marrying me.”

Below is the video and transcript, in which he good-humoredly touches on his own bio, how Kamala has been good to him and their family, and why she will be good for the country.

Hello to my big beautiful blended family up there. I love you so much. Are you proud of Cole? [his son, who introduced him.] Wow. And a special shout-out to my mother.  My mother is the only person in the whole world that thinks kamala is the lucky one for marrying me. And to Kamala, who, we just saw where she is on the trail listening to and talking with voters. Honey, I can’t wait for you to come back to Chicago because we are having a great time here. I love you so much. I am so proud of how you’re stepping up for all of us.

 But that’s who she is. Wherever she is needed, however she is needed, Kamala rises to the occasion. And he did it for me and our family and now that the country needs her, she is showing you what we already know. She is ready to lead. She brings joy and confidence to this task and she will be a great president we will all be proud of. Now I am the son of two Brooklynites, Mike and Barb. They have been together almost 70 years. My dad worked in the shoe business in Manhattan. They moved our family out to New Jersey (where is New Jersey? I see you out there) when i was a little kid. In a lot of ways, I had a typical Jersey suburban childhood. I biked around the neighborhood, I took the bus to Hebrew school, and I rode to Little League practice in the way back of my coach’s wood paneled station wagon. If we did well, we got to have a slurpee after. 

In my neighborhood everyone left their garage door open. Wherever you ended up at dinnertime, that is the family that fed you. Everyone took care of everyone else. The guys I grew up with are still my best friends. The group chat is active every day and it is probably blowing up right now, guys. When my dad had to get a new job we moved across the country to L. A. (Hey, California.) Money was tight, so i worked at Mcdonald’s in high school for some extra cash. Not only was Employee of the Month, but I still have the framed picture, which you just saw, and there was a ring, golden arches and all. I waited tables, parked cars, i was working full-time, so i could afford to go to college part-time. And thanks to a partial scholarship, student loans and a little help from my dad, i got myself through law school and got my first job as a lawyer. Which is also where I met the guys in my fantasy football league. And a lot has changed in our lives since the early 90’s, but my team name is still Nirvana. Yes, after the band.

 I worked hard and loved being a lawyer. I still get to be part of the profession by teaching students at Georgetown law school. 

I got married, became a dad. Unfortunately went through a divorce, but eventually started worrying about how i would make it all work. That is when something unexpected happened. 

In 2013 I walked into a contentious client meeting. We worked through the issue, and by the end of the meeting the now happy client offered to set me up on a blind date. Which is how I ended up with Kamala Harris’s  phone number. 

Now, for generations, people have debated when to call the person you are being set up with. And never in history has anyone suggested 8:30 a.m. And yet, that is when I dialed. I got Kamala’s voicemail and I just started rambling. “Hey, it’s Doug. I’m on my way to an early meeting. Again, its Doug. “I was trying to grab the words out of the air and just put them back in my mouth. For what seemed like far too many minutes, I hung up. By the way, Kamala saved that voicemail and makes me listen to it on every anniversary.

But that message was not the only unusual thing about that day. Kamala, who normally would have been working hard at her office, happened to be waiting at her apartment for a contractor to do work on her kitchen. I was eating at my desk, which was not a regular occurrence for a busy lawyer like me who appreciated a good business lunch, but that is when she called me back. We talked for an hour and we laughed. You know that laugh. I love that laugh! 

And maybe that counted as our first date. Or maybe it was that Saturday night when I picked her up and told her, buckle up, I’m a really bad driver. You can’t hide anything from Kamala Harris, so you might as well own it. As I got to know her better, and just fell in love fast, I learned what drives Kamala. It is what you have seen over these past four years and especially these past four weeks. She finds joy in pursuing justice. She stands up to bullies just like my parents taught me to. She likes to see people do well, but hates when they are treated unfairly. She believes this work requires a basic curiosity in how people are doing. Her empathy is her strength. 

 Over the past decade, Kamala has connected me more deeply to my faith. Even though it is not the same as hers. She comes to synagogue with me for High Holy Days  services and I go to church with her for Easter. I get to enjoy her mom’s chile relleno every Christmas and she makes a mean brisket for Passover. It brings me right back to my grandmother’s apartment in Brooklyn, you know, the one with the plastic-covered couches. 

But Kamala has fought against antisemitism and all forms of hate her entire career. She is the one who encouraged me as Second Gentleman to take up that fight which is so personal to me. 

Those of you who belong to blended families know they can be a little complicated. But as soon as our kids started calling her Momala, I knew we would be ok. Ella calls us the three-headed parenting machine. Kamala and Kerstin, thank you both, for always putting your family and the kids first. Cole and Ella’s friends knew when they came over to Sunday dinner with Momala it was going to be real talk. In between cooking instructions they would have to answer questions about what problem they wanted to solve in the world. They learned you always have to be prepared because Kamala is going to prosecute the case. And in the same breath that Cole and  Greenley told us they were engaged, they asked Kamala to officiate their wedding. In the same way she always steps up when it matters, Kamala puts so much time into those remarks and bound them in a book that matched her dark, red dress and turned that into a gift for the happy couple. 

A few days ago during this incredible time we are going through, there was a brief window when Kamala was back at home and iI saw her sitting on her favorite chair and in the middle of a wild month, I hoped she was having a quiet moment to herself. Then I realized she was on the phone. My mind went to all the potential crises that the  vice president could be dealing with, whether domestic, foreign, campaign. I could see she was focused and all I knew is that it must be something important. It turns out it was. Ella had called her. That’s Kamala. That’s Kamala. Those kids are her priority. And that scene was a perfect map of her heart. She has always been there for our children and I know she will be there for yours, too. 

Kamala is a joyful warrior. It is doing for her country what she has always done for the people that she loves. Her passion will benefit all of us when she’s our president. And here is the thing about joyful warriors. They are still warriors. And Kamala is as tough as it comes. Just ask the criminals, the global gangsters and the witnesses before the Senate Judiciary Committee. She never runs from a fight. She knows the best way to deal with a coward is to take him head on because we all know cowards are weak and Kamala Harris can smell weakness. She does not tolerate any bs. You have all seen that look. You know the look I am talking about. It is not just a meme. It reflects our belief in honest and direct leadership and It is also why she will not be distracted by nonsense. Kamala knows that in order to win we cannot lose focus. 

America, in this election you have to decide who to trust with your family’s future. I trusted Kamala with our family’s future. It was the best decision I ever made. This Thursday will be our 10th wedding anniversary, which, I know I am about to hear that embarrassing voicemail again. However, that is not all I will be hearing. That same night I will be hearing my wife, Kamala Harris, accept your nomination for president of the United States. And with your help she will lead with joy and toughness, with that laugh and that look, with compassion and conviction. She will lead it from the belief that wherever we come from, whatever we look like, we are strongest when we fight for what we believe in, not just against what we fear. 

Kamala Harris was exactly the right person for me at an important moment in my life. At this moment in our nation’s history, she is exactly the right president. Thank you so much.