Kamala Harris has been a career politician for many years now. However, her ascension to the role of vice president has created a new wrinkle: it brought her and her family, including husband Doug Emhoff and fashion guru stepdaughter Ella Emhoff, into the spotlight like never before.
Unfortunately, the increased scrutiny means people are just waiting to catch every embarrassing moment. Here are the most embarrassing Harris-Emhoff family moments captured on camera!
Kamala’s awkward laugh
Everyone has their own nervous tic. In the case of Kamala Harris, she tends to laugh off tough questions, even when doing so seems wildly inappropriate.
In this interview with 60 Minutes, Kamala is asked if she will bring a “socialist or progressive perspective” to the White House. Harris said “No” but did so while cackling with laughter and with her voice cracking, which didn’t make viewers of the interview very confident in her answer.
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Doug Emhoff’s nerves get the best of him
Compared to most political spouses, Dough Emhoff is generally supportive and avoids major controversies. But he isn’t immune from the occasional embarrassing moment.
In this clip, we see him hop onstage as Joe Biden and Kamala Harris accepted their nomination to the Democratic presidential ticket. While Kamala looks cool and collected in front of the cameras, we can see Doug nervously tugged on his jacket, kissing his wife, and generally looking out of place.
Kamala’s dig at Trump is met with silence
Donald Trump loomed large over the 2020 election, and everyone raced to find the most accurate ways to describe him. Of course, Kamala may have found the silliest possible way to do so.
In this clip from the Democratic Debate, Harris says that Trump reminds her of “that guy in the Wizard of Oz… when you pull back the curtain, it’s a really small dude?” However, the reference fell flat because at 6’3″, Donald Trump is anything but a “really small dude.”
To make matters worse, Kamala had to explain to the 5’5″ moderator George Stephanopoulos that she wasn’t talking about him!
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Doug Emhoff drops an easy pass during an interview
Ever think about the difference between a tough interview and an easy one? Generally speaking, tough interviews are filled with questions that are hard to answer. Easy ones have questions that make you look good… unless you screw it up, of course.
This happened during an extended NBC News interview with Doug Emhoff in June 2021, his first interview since the inauguration. At one point, he is asked if Kamala, as “the first woman, Black, South Asian vice president, do you think your wife is treated differently?”
Doug responds with “Um, probably… but so what?” He tried to spin this into praise for Kamala’s ability to overcome any challenges. But at first blush, it seemed like he was dismissing much of what made his wife’s election victory so historic in the first place.
Ella Emhoff doesn’t wear her own clothing
Aside from Kamala, the biggest winner in the family is definitely Ella Emhoff. She became a household name after her mother’s electoral victory, and she parlayed that fame into selling her own clothing and art and even landing a modeling career with IMG.
However, in this awkward clip, we see Ella admit that she doesn’t wear the clothing she designs. She goes on to draw a distinction between her “personal style” and her “brand aesthetic,” but she comes off a bit like a cook who never bothers to taste her own food.
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That time Joe Biden called Kamala a ‘kid’
In all honesty, we could have filled this entire list with weird moments between Kamala Harris and Joe Biden. Back when they were mutual rivals for the Democratic presidential nomination, they had plenty of awkward moments.
This moment became immediately infamous, though. Thanks to a hot mic, the whole world heard Joe Biden tell Kamala Harris “Go easy on me, kid” before a major debate. It was likely Joe’s attempt at a joke, but Biden calling a then-54-year-old colleague and accomplished senator a child was pretty embarrassing.
Ella Emhoff’s confusing high fashion moment
When is an awkward video moment not really your fault? When you didn’t dress yourself, of course!
As we noted before, Ella Emhoff became a model for IMG. In this clip, we see her showing off items from the Proenza Schouler Fall Winter 2021 Collection. So what makes this clip embarrassing? Frankly, it is what Ella is wearing!
The top is breezy and exposes a midriff. The bottom has baggier legs than your grandfather’s ’70s wardrobe. This is supposed to be an advertisement for a “Fall Winter” collection, but this outfit can’t decide if it’s in the middle of summer or the depths of winter.
RELATED: Inside Kamala Harris’s Relationship With Her Stepdaughter Ella Emhoff
Kamala gets rejected by the crowd
A good rule in life is to never ask questions you don’t know the answer to. While that rule is good for all of us, it is especially important for politicians.
And Kamala Harris learned this lesson at a great price. While campaigning for the presidential nomination in Reno, Nevada in 2019, Harris rhetorically asked the room if they were ready for her presidency. The crowd wasted no time in shouting “No” as a response! Oof!
That time Kamala dated talk show host Montel Williams
Perhaps Kamala Harris’s most embarrassing moment happened long before she was vice president.
Back in 2001 when she district attorney for San Francisco, Harris briefly dated talk show host Montel Williams. They were captured on camera at a charity event in Los Angeles with Williams’ daughter Ashley, which you can see in the video above.