Pod Save America - Doug Emhoff Is Ready to Win (Fantasy Football)

Episode Date: September 5, 2024

Doug Emhoff stops by the Crooked studio! The Second Gentleman talks with Jon, Lovett, and Tommy about why Kamala Harris is such "a badass," masculinity and winning over young men, and his role fighting the rise of antisemitism. Plus: the hug with Tim Walz that his friends are still giving him shit about, Kamala's kitchen skills, and why he still makes time for fantasy football.

Welcome to Pod Save America, I'm Jon Favreau. I'm Jon Lovett, Tommy Vitor. Joining us in studio today is a man of many firsts, the first ever second gentleman, the first Jewish spouse of a US vice president, and the first person to be without a phone at the West Hollywood Soul Cycle. When his wife called to say she just became the likely Democratic nominee for president,

Doug Emhoff is here. Doug, welcome to the pod. Good to see you all. Doug, Doug, Doug, Doug. And welcome back home to Los Angeles. Where's your signs? It's great to be home, it's great to the pod. Good to see you all. Doug, Doug, Doug, Doug. And welcome back home to Los Angeles. Where's your signs? It's great to be home. It's great to be here.

So 45 days ago, your life was still normal enough for you to be getting coffee with your LA friends at SoulCycle. You now have 61 days to help your wife defeat Donald Trump and make history as the next president of the United States. What has it felt like to get shot out of a cannon like this? Like, how have your lives changed? How much of your lives changed? Yeah, it's so interesting to be right back in LA.

In Hollywood, I was at West, the West Hollywood Soul Cycle. Which I used to go to all the time. The 930 Soul Survivor class. So I did 60 minutes at my advanced age. And I was with my friends30 Soul Survivor class, so I did 60 minutes at my advanced age. And I was with my friends, so we walked out. And people were coming by saying hi. I was like, we're going to be fine.

Don't worry. Everything's good. And we're just, I've known them a long time. And then 20, 30 minutes in, my friend's partner just shows me the phone. And at first I thought it was fake, then I don't believe it. Then being a good lawyer, I was read the last line first. And that, if you recall, was something like, I will address the nation later this week thinking, oh, he's coming back from COVID. And so he said, read above that. And then, you know, you see this whole crew,

I said, let's go, we got to go and we're running. And if you know that soul crew, I said, let's go, we gotta go. And we're running. And if you know that soul cycle, it's not like the car's two feet away. It's several hundred yards. So I'm running, running. Jumping over gate guys left and right. Getting in the car.

Glitter and things dodging. Yeah, and then to go from that, the phone, like I said, it's like literally steam is coming out of it. And it's some variation of call Kamala, call Kamala. And it wasn't just her calling, it was every family member, including my kids and my parents, like, where are you? And then I finally talked to her and she said, where the F were you? I need you.

It's a tough one. And it was a very short conversation. And then it really has been like getting shot out of a cannon because the next day I was in Wilmington addressing the now Harris campaign and it was so surreal too because the president called in. So just as I was about to go up on stage and I had barely seen her and it had been 72 hours since I had seen her since this all happened and I just about to walk out there and then you hear Joe's voice and we all it just it just hit so hard. Yeah. And then I went out and introduced her and then it's

just been nonstop. It has literally been nonstop. I barely seen her. I've been back and forth across the country several times. I've been to Paris for the Olympics in the middle of all this and the convention in the middle of all this, including the speech, and that feels like a distant memory because two weeks later, I've literally been crisscrossing the country still. So that's how it's been. Very little time to reflect. And there's not a lot of like happy couple chit chat with us. It's not like, hey, this is pretty amazing. She's like, get back to work. He's like, you can't even say anything to her because she's so focused that it's just, yeah, I'm not gonna pay attention to that. Just get back out on the road.

One of the things that's interesting because you talked about this, that basically because you had been at SoulCycle and then getting some food after, like this ship was sailing, was there any conversation like, hey, are we doing this? Like was there any kind of like, hey, do you want to run for president? Was there, it was just, it was happening. By the time I talked to her, she had already been on the phone with the president and had already been working the phones with the president and had already been working the phones to nail down the nomination. So it was minute 45 of Soul Survivor that had happened.

I guess I lost, I guess because I didn't answer the phone the first time, I lost any right of negotiation over. Because you're on your way, you have some stake in this, you're gonna be first gentleman. Do you think they should put a little plaque on that seat that said this is where Doug's butt was

when Joe Biden stepped aside? Apparently it's a thing, but I guess some reporters have shown up there to check out the class and like, ooh, this was the SoulCycle class he was in. But I've been, that was my normal routine when I'm here. Not enough arms. I know it's a problem.

You know it's a problem. It's like 45 minutes in, it's like, here are some free weights. It feels like an afterthought. They should talk about it. You know. Yeah, I mean, also, just having worked on campaigns, presidential campaigns, I mean, usually it's a two year

process, and the number of things that you and the vice president are having to do in less than 100 days is unbelievable. And we were joking before we started recording that we had gotten podium passes from a friend at the convention to go up to the very front to watch Michelle Obama and Barack Obama speak, which meant when you were coming off stage

for your speech, we were literally standing there and almost accidentally greeted you in this like incredible moment Luckily, you did not remember until I reminded you, but it's just another thing you had to do right away. Right away. Yeah. And that speech, because when we were still on the VP side, second gentleman, I think I was going to speak, but I'm sure it would have been somewhere, maybe. A couple minutes. And so then when she got on the top of the ticket, they said, okay, you're going to have a bigger speech. We're not sure when. And I just assumed I'd be introducing her foolishly

on Thursday. And then they said, we're moving around. Then I found out pretty close on that you're going Tuesday and you're going prime time. And I said, oh, okay, who am I speaking with? The Obamas. You mean Barack and Michelle Obama. Yeah, you're gonna go. And then that's like our prime time package, you and the Obamas.

I said, okay, I need to work on the speech. I need- Because they're very good speakers, famously. As it turns out, they are. Well, in addition to your wife's speech, which got rave reviews, almost everyone we talked to in all the reports we saw, people mentioned three speeches, which is the Obama's speeches and yours. That was obviously probably the biggest audience you've ever spoken to. How did you want the speech to go? Did you practice? Were you nervous about addressing a big audience like that? I knew I needed to be able to talk about her and a little bit about myself too because I even though second

gentleman married to the vice president I'm out there a lot. It's not like, and people know me, but it's not the same. And so the part of it was, who am I? Just a little intro on myself. And who is she? The Kamala Harris that I know that I wanted everyone else to know, that those of us in her family know. And then when you see the caricatures of her and the parody and the, you know her a little bit, that's just not her.

And so for all of us, there's just been this, it's just not bemusement, it's just like, that's just, it's not you. And so I think part of what I wanted to do is just show the world, the one I married, the woman I love, the woman who was there for me at a, you know, a rough time in my life, who was able to come in and be mamala to the kids

and be now really great friends with my ex-wife and integrate with her family. And so I just wanted everyone to see what we get to see each and every day, but I also wanted to talk about her as a badass. Like, she's the joyful warrior, so that kind of part about her was the joyful part. Let's end with the badass warrior, the person I also see, the person that I was fearful of when she was attorney general and I was representing business clients, and then I'm like, oh, I

wonder what she's going to be like on a date. She was great and so to show that side, the woman who grilled those folks in the Judiciary Committee, the woman who's on the world stage, the woman that we see because we're in the office of Vice President, so we also get to see her at work each and every day as Vice President, Oval Office, Situation Room, doing all the stuff that we see. And then she just stepped up, because we talk about how surreal it was that I wasn't there,

but was also that she just stepped up when we needed somebody to step up. This country needed a leader to step into the void, step into the breach, and she did that. And so to say that to the whole world on that stage, that was what I wanted to cross. It was, I don't get nervous really. I mean, I was a trial lawyer here in Hollywood,

so you know, you can't, no one wants to hire a shaky lawyer, so you always learn to be really calm in highly stressful situations. You gotta be prepared. So a lot of the skills that I've already brought to the table as a lawyer here really help, but nothing prepares you for that, nothing. And so you walk out there and you see the Doug signs

and it's like the noise and the intensity, I'm looking up, my parents are up there, and my son had directed the video. It was amazing. He introduced me, and so I'm a little shaky because I had all this planned, you know, that Mike Tyson, you always have a plan until you get hit in the face, so I almost felt like, okay, you better regroup, take a breath,

and if you see that tape of it, I just, and then reset, and then I just went for it. Beta blocker, what are those things called? Beta blocker, you can think of beta blocker. The speech went well, you thought about a debate, maybe challenging Melania to a debate. We can just, we can table that if you prefer not to. All right, I'm gonna ruin the vibes here. So on Tuesday night, you attended a vigil

for Israeli hostages being held in Gaza. And so, you know, the last 11 months, I think, have been unimaginable for those hostages, their families. The news over the weekend that six hostages had been executed and found just days after that execution. It's just, you know, it's unbearable. One of the people killed was an Israeli American named Hirsch Goldberg-Polin.

I know you spent a lot of time with his family. And so I just, I wanted to ask you about your impressions from that vigil, but also about a disconnect I feel in the conversation about Gaza in the US versus in Israel. In Israel, it feels like people are clear-eyed that Hamas is responsible for October 7th. They are responsible for the execution of these hostages. They're an evil terrorist organization. Everyone is clear-eyed about that. But there are many people in the streets also blaming Bibi Netanyahu for his failure to get to yes on a ceasefire and hostage release deal.

But in the US, in the US coverage, in the US political debate, including statements out of the Biden administration, I feel like it's far less direct about the frustration with Netanyahu than what you hear in Israel. And so I was just wondering if you agree with that observation, if it's something you've seen,

and if you think the missing piece to get to yes on that hostage release deal is maybe more pressure on Netanyahu's government. Well, let me start with the first part about what it was like to be there last night at Addison, DC. And remember, the parents, John and Rachel, spoke at the DNC, I think just two weeks ago. They were just the strength.

And what I talked about last night about them was in that speech, you know, they were almost just reminding the vast majority of people what had happened on October 7th, that Hamas was responsible, that women and babies and grandmas and young people at a music festival were murdered, tortured, raped. And there's people who don't know that and actually there's people even worse that don't believe it. So the fact that even though their son at that time had been in captivity for many, many months, they used that time to educate the public and to educate about time to educate the public and to educate about the plight of not only their son, but of others. And to talk to them over the weekend when their son had been executed, just shot with five other people, you know, execution style in cold blood when they were, you know, almost about to be rescued.

Just unbearable. But on that phone call, again, we had met them. I saw them at the convention. Kamala had met them several times. And then to just their strength, their grace, their compassion, and their empathy towards us, the fact that they were concerned about how we were doing, when we couldn't even find the words to talk to them about how sorry we were. So, I mean, I'm just so on the human element. That's what last night was about. It was a vigil for those victims. It was families of survivors, families of those killed there, and it was a way for the community to just come together. And I'm a part of the community.

So I really approached that as a Jew, as a congregant, as a mourner, someone to pray with them, and to just really express how I feel. And in terms of the politics of that, I mean, I'm not going to address it. I mean, that's not for me to do. I know she's working on this night and day as is the president. I know there has to be a deal. There needs to be consequence for Hamas and there needs to be, and the leaders and you've seen that and there needs to be peace and the leaders, and you've seen that, and there needs to be a peace, and that's what they're working towards. And so that's what the administration is doing. There was this moment during President Biden's last day of the union.

It's where you're up in the stands and the vice president is standing behind Joe Biden and you're kind of trying to get her attention. And you finally get her attention and there's this incredible look between the two of you. I loved it. It's really moving. It seemed to just as somebody just watching from the outside, just two people who genuinely love each other and people really took to it. The last man to almost become first gentleman

was a former president with a not insubstantial ego of his own. You are seeking not just a supportive role, but a role that is both official and unpaid because it's gendered, because it is based on the presumption that the president is a man and his spouse is a woman. How do you think about that?

How do you think about addressing that? Well, I'll take your question in parts. I think the first part, yes, I love my wife very much. And softball, hardball questions. But this is part of the that there's, everyone's watching everything. So you're almost, I'm sitting there, I'm up there. It's like, wow, there's my wife, you know, sitting behind the president at the State of the Union. Each State of the Union, there's been something where I've like waved and blew

a kiss. And it's always on camera. So those moments are, but that's us. I mean, you're still trying to be a normal couple amongst all this stuff. Bill Clinton, I've developed a pretty good relationship with him. He's really been there for me and for Kamala as just someone who's been through all this, someone who is just so smart and still follows everything so well. And we did an event after the convention, right after, and he introduced me at an event. I'm thinking,

I just spoke with the Obamas and now Bill Clinton's introducing me and here I am, this entertainment lawyer from right here where we're sitting just so surreal But he said and here's the man who's trying to get the job that I tried to get for 20 years Doug Emhoff the next first gentleman, so I've thought a lot about your actual question how to how to approach just being second gentleman as the first man ever to do this role, and someone who loved my career very much,

I was very good at it, very successful, said humbly with modesty, but it's true, and I miss it, but to take a step back so my wife can become vice president was something I gladly did. I did it without bitterness, without anger. And then with her, you know, her goading was, what are you going to make of this role? You know, try to find something in this role that you can move the needle on. And those were, one was really, being the first guy doing this, let's talk about gender issues.

So I've talked a lot about gender equity, pay equity, family leave, childcare. Then of course, when Dobbs hit, I spent two years talking to men about why the Dobbs issue and reproductive freedom and this crisis that Dobbs has caused is an issue for all of us, not just for women. And then being the first Jew, it's first Jewish principle ever. There's a lot of anti-Semitism. There's a lot of hate. Lean into that. And so that's how I

approached it and that's how I'll continue to approach it if we are so fortunate to win the election, which we have to win. I'm gonna approach it the same way. Where can I be most useful to her as her husband, support her, love her as always, but be there for her, but also how can I help her as president, help the administration, help the American people being the first and what issues can I really drive, but also there's a lot of traditions that are really cool. I've tried to uphold those as second gentleman. Fun fact, as second gentleman, I am the president of the Senate spouses

because she's the president of the Senate. And I was a former Senate spouse. And so, you know, there's some lunches, there's an event at the vice president's residence. So I just made sure that I participated in those traditional events. And as first gentleman, there's certain traditions that I fully expect that I will faithfully uphold.

So I'm a gay person and I notice that if you go to a fancy hotel, there's a presumption that there's gonna be a man and a woman in that room because there'll be things that are meant for men and things that are meant for a woman. When you're to a fancy hotel, there's a presumption that there's gonna be a man and a woman in that room because there'll be things that are meant for men and things that are meant for a woman. When you're at the observatory, when you're in any of these events, have you ever gone into a space and you're like,

oh, no one ever thought a man would be here before? Day one, because there's actually a org chart for everything in the government, including the office of the vice president. And the first org chart that was presented to us said something like, you know, vice president on the top, and then there's a line to it said second lady, they crossed it out and just said second spouse. And then under that, it said family life. And we said, okay, she said something like, yeah, we're doing that together.

And so the implication was that I would be in charge of- Family life. Family life and whatever else that entailed. So we just played through it. And again, as second gentleman, I spent most of my time first year vaccinations, getting the economy going again, supporting the American Rescue Plan.

And throughout, I spent most of the time helping her getting the economy going again, supporting the American Rescue Plan. And throughout, I spent most of the time helping her and helping the administration. And that's how I would approach being First Gentleman, whatever the flow chart there is, because it helps her. I mean, I'm there to support her. And also, look, this is a two-way street. It's not a one-sided deal. I mean, when I was practicing lawyer, I mean, we supported each other's careers. And I mean, she knew this was going to be difficult for me to step away, even though,

again, I did it gladly. So she has really enabled me through her support to lean into issues like anti-Semitism, lean into these other issues and be able to go out there and do a lot of really amazing things as Second Gentlemen. And that's what I expect to do, whatever the chart says. It's been pointed out that you and Tim Walz are presenting a very different, healthier version of masculinity in this campaign than Trump and JD Vance, who are obviously selling a very different version that appeals to their base voters, but also the voters who haven't decided yet in this election are more likely

to be younger, more moderate men. The New York Times just ran a piece about how, quote, the Trump campaign has been aggressively courting what might be called the bro vote, the frat boy flank, a slice of 18 to 29 year olds that has long been regarded as unreliable and unreachable, but the Republicans believe may just swing the election this year. How do you think about in the campaign,

what it will take to motivate that group of young men to vote for Kamala Harris? I know your son Cole is 29, so he's in that demographic as well. Yeah, you got it. Well, he did the video. I hope he's going to vote. Put that in the win column. I'm actually going to go do my fantasy football draft

with him right after this, so... We're going to come back to this. I want to ask you that. Yeah, so great question. It's something we've, I've thought a lot about, not just because of the election, I just thought a lot about this not just because the election, I've just thought a lot about this, this state of where we are as men and how I can, how I can talk about it. And I, what I've learned, I think through trial and error is

just to talk about me and what I do and how I feel and how I felt even as a young man. So when I was married to Kirsten, we both had big careers and supported each other, supported her. And so for me, it was just kind of where my mindset was growing up is that I'm gonna be somebody who is supportive of my partner and their career and other women. I came up through law firms and you can see,

we start around 50-50, men and women in the law firm and by the time I left four years ago, the equity, senior equity partner ranks where I was, was very low percentage of women and it's just not right, it's not fair. And so that's again why I tried to use the second gentleman purse to just talk about just fairness, like what's fair, what's not. And sports, using women's sports as a way to talk about pay equity, training equity,

travel equity, media rights equity, and all the things we're now seeing are starting to get better. And that's a good thing and that means There's more men watching women's sports and more people watching women's sports and we're happier for it So there's lots of ways to do it lots of ways to reach them But I learned that you can't be a scold you can't you know? Lecture you just try to show by example. And one great story is on the, in this post-Dobbs, there's a group, literally called a group called Men for Choice. And it's primarily men in college and just out of college, maybe up until their late

20s, early 30s. And so they understand that it's, one, it's the right thing to do. It's not fair if women are being treated, literally being treated as less than, but also it impacts so many other rights. You saw what Thomas said in the concurring opinion of Dobbs, anything based on this Griswold right of privacy, which Roe v. Wade was, is at risk. Gay marriage, contraception, literally the right to do what you want in your bedroom. This is where cue the Tim Walls, you know, memes of, you know, stay out of my damn bedroom. So that's what we're talking about. By the way, he's a great guy. He's a good Tim Walls.

I thought he was in the room. So it's the one good, two funny Tim Wall stories are ready within a few weeks. So I met him once as second gentleman out on the road. I was in St. Paul doing a small business event. I was very impressed. You know, he knew about business and the economy. And then I didn't see him until that night in Philly when we jumped up on the stage.

Oh, wow. And so we kind of bonded backstage and we get up there and we just do this big bro bear hug and I cannot tell you how many texts I got from my actual friends and actual family members like you never hugged me like that. What's going on? You literally just met this guy. Did you hit him on the back to preserve your heteronormativity? Did you give him the back pat? No, if you see the video, we just did this full on, and I think, you know, he was like this, I was like this,

and then it was just this bro hug, and I heard from a lot of actual friends, and then the other one, I love when he said, I'll sleep when I'm dead, and I said, I'll sleep on November 6th, because I want to actually enjoy the fruits of winning this election. The vice president has a debate with Donald Trump next week.

She does? Yeah, well, we hope. I assume no one has debated with her more often than you have. Do you have any, what should we expect here? What would she look for? I haven't won one. Yeah. Did she mute your mic?

Is that a thing you're asking? You know, she is a very good debater. Yeah. Did she mute your mic? Is that a thing you're asking? She is a very good debater. If you look at some of her debates, look at her debate with Mike Pence. She had a pretty infamous debate with Loretta Sanchez when she was running for Senate. She's also a first-class trial lawyer. A first-class lawyer and a first-class trial lawyer, first class, I mean, a first class lawyer and a first class trial lawyer. And I would say something, you know,

there's funny husband, wife, so it's not like we're in a debate, but I realize if we're talking about something, any really good lawyer will lay little traps for you along the way. And as I'm going through this discussion about some husband, wife thing, I said, oh, that's what you're doing. I was a pretty good trial lawyer too.

I said, aha. And so she is very, very disciplined. She's very prepared. She's, again, a first-class lawyer and a first-class intellect. And that's how she's gonna approach everything. So it's Donald Trump, so who the hell knows what you're gonna get, but I know from her, she's gonna be talking about us.

She's gonna be talking about the American people. She's gonna be talking about the issues that she's been talking about. She's gonna be talking about moving us forward, talking about this economic plan, talking about our standing in the world. And I mean, literally everything I just said, including the abortion issue, there's such a clear contrast. I mean, this is such a binary, clear contrast. And I think just getting folks to understand that and pay attention to know that everyone's life would be markedly worse if somehow this

guy who's completely unfit for office ever returned. It just people will be so far worse off including business folks who think oh, maybe he was good on the economy. One, that's not true. But two, think about the things he's saying. One of the bases of a great economy is stability. It's lack of chaos. It's rule of law. It's our court systems. It's all the capital markets. It's innovation. It's trade. It's all these things that make, really make our economy great, make our country great. And you would think this place is going down the tubes the way Donald Trump talks about it, but I love the way she talked about it.

This country is awesome. And to see, to hear the USA chants in Paris at the Olympics where you expect to hear them, but then to come back and hear them at a democratic convention where you may not normally expect to see that and hear that. Why were you hearing that? Because her vision of our country is more accurate of what we're experiencing and where she can take it. And we know he's already was terrible the first time,

terrible even pre-COVID. And then COVID is probably the biggest dereliction of duty of any president history, hundreds of thousands of people died because he lied about COVID. He continued to lie about it. And oh yeah, and then he fomented an insurrection when he lost the other election. So yeah, it wasn't great. So this is what we're dealing with. So she's going to just talk about the issues that actually help people,

and he's just gonna lie and talk about himself. What was your relationship to politics when you met Kamala Harris? Have you always been politically active? Have you always had strong political views? I mean, I've always been a Dem. I, again, building my career, so I was more focused on building my career

and, um, raising the kids. And, uh, I wasn't like... Your brain was not broken by politics like all of us. I didn't know, like, I wouldn't have known, like, whatever precursor you guys were before in the before times. It never does before. Right, you guys are one off. But yeah, I was like most, I was just out there, I was, I cared about our country, I

cared about the issues, I voted, and I followed it when there were elections, but I wasn't like obsessively, you know, watching stuff and reading stuff because I was out there trying to support my big, beautiful, blended, no that was before that, to support my big, beautiful, blinded, no, that was before that. I had a big, beautiful, blinded family. So I support my family and I got into it a little bit before I had met her as it turned out. You know, the kids were getting older and it was election season.

And I was starting to, you know, donate some money. And so you're getting invited to a fundraiser. No, I was going to, I was starting to, you know, donate some money. You're getting invited to a fundraiser. No, I was going to, I was starting to go to events because I had more time and I was at a place where that seemed more interesting and then I met her and then all of a sudden I started. You had plenty of events to go to. Well then I started going to lots of events and learning about it. But my first election was her attorney general re-elect.

I was like, wow, politics is easy. You just show up on election day and you get re-elected. I didn't realize she was basically running unopposed. Even the Senate race, it took a while and she ran for a while, but I was working full-time. I was in and out of that. Really my first introduction is when she ran in the primary,

when I was a weekend warrior and went around helping around. Then it became a full-time gig that day in August of 2020, when she got that call and then that was my last day at the firm. And I've been doing this ever since. Oh, that's amazing. All right, now it's time for some hard balls. Okay. Are you ready? Oh my goodness.

So the LA Times published a list of some of your favorite restaurants. Okay. Okay. Some good important choices there. Two big problems with the list. First of all, Tuscana, Douglas, Tuscana. What was that on there? It's 2024.

I'm barely here. My point of reference is I haven't been here a lot in the last four years. We're in a red sauce renaissance in this city. Are you not familiar with this? I didn't know we were in a red sauce renaissance. We're a red sauce renaissance. So the thing is I'm not here a lot.

And so when I come back, I wanna just re-experience the LA that I left behind in 2020 or even pre-COVID. So I don't know many of the new places and it's kind of hard to get around these days. So. I've been here for 10 years and never knew like the best Mexican food in LA and then

reading to prepare for this interview I saw that you guys love El Cholo and so after I was reading yesterday my wife and I went to the original location. Which one? It's like right down the street from us. We didn't even know. Yeah. And fantastic. Isn't it amazing?

Yes. Thank you for that recommendation. Well I started going to that one. I went to USC for law school, and I started going there in the late 80s when I was in law school. Basically, that was part of my repertoire the whole time. So as soon as I met Kamal, we just started going. And if we can't go, we, is that, is El Cholo, you're giving me the look on El Cholo too?

No, no, no. I'm good with El Cholo. I'm good with El Cholo. Craig's upset me. What about Craig? Craig's for the, it's No, no, no, I'm good with El Cholo. I'm good with El Cholo. It's just Toscona. Craig's upset me. What about Craig? It's like fancy cars, photographers, you know what I mean?

So Craig's, I think this is public, but we went on our first date there. And so, and I knew Craig for a long time, and it was one of those places where. You knew Craig. The one in West Hollywood, right? Is there this one? Yeah. There's this one.

And so that's kind of a special place, just because that Is there just one? Yeah. There's just one. And so that's kind of a special place, just because that was literally our first date and it's... It's very seedy now. But again, I'm barely here. We're holding you to an unfair standard. I'm really just trying to see the kids or my parents or, you know, so it's not like I'm out hitting the town.

Hard to get east of the 405 when you're... I've told... You know, that is... When you're just here. I'm glad you brought that up. Because when I'm talking to the team who are not from LA and they're giving me like the 15 minute travel time to get from the west side to here. Right here at 4 p.m.

Not happening. No, this is literally an hour and 20 minutes. Can we roll life and sirens now? I think we gotta win this election. Okay, let's win. All right, now, second problem I have. Oh my God. This may not be your fault.

This may be just the mainstream media, once again, letting us all down. But there was no deli on that list, all right? And I just, I have a couple, Nate and Al's, Cantor's, Art's, Langer's, where are we going? What are we ordering? So Langer's is,

and I read an article about Langers in the LA Times that, you know, I think it needs some love. Langers, the first, I'm so old, the first stop on the original metro line went from downtown Seventh Street to right across the street from Langers. So us lawyers would literally,

like whatever it costs, a quarter dollar, would go to lunch at Langer's, take the new subway, Metro Line, and go there. So love that place. What's our deli order? We're fighting antisemitism, we're at the deli, what are we getting? I mean, you know, corned beef, it's kind of hard not to,

but I try to eat a little healthier these days, so maybe, I might love dry tuna, so I get dry tuna at a lot of these delis too. Dry tuna? Yeah, it's just- I don't know if you're gonna win. Yeah. I don't think you go around talking about dry tuna.

Not super dry, but you know, just melt, tuna melt. Okay, tuna melt, okay, I love, tuna melt. Love a tuna melt. But the tuna has to be, it can't be super, we saw the VP make a tuna melt. Oh yeah, that's right, the Mark Warner thing. Yeah, and also when we're here, she cooks. I mean, her thing is cooking Sunday dinner. And so she's amazing, near-chef-like.

So for me, it's her cooking for us, cooking for the family. So she's amazing, near-chef-like. So for me, it's like her cooking for us, cooking for the family, you're always winning. Better than most restaurants. What did she do with matzo? What did she do with matzo? I think I got her to make me matzo probably once. And again, she does everything great. So she puts her own touches in it.

She probably threw some flavor and some spice in it. But she's good. I was not lying. She makes a very mean brisket. And she puts a lot of love into it. And I read at these Sunday dinners, she spends like five hours on a bouillonnaise or whatever. And you do cocktails?

Does that sound like the kind of equity you're talking about? I think during. What kind of cocktails were you drinking? Well, I do try. I try to sous chef it up. She taught me some of the knife skills. Oh. Not, you know, cutting food.

Yeah, we obviously did that. Shopping. Anything you meant samurai. Shopping. So, I've been famous. She got me onion goggles, which I put on a post once, which I go, oh my God, onion goggles. So, I take that seriously.

I try to help as much as I can. But now that usually the kids come over and everyone's getting older, so they all wanna help her in the kitchen. So usually I'm just like making drinks. Or now I might, colic, I'm like down to just picking the music, like putting a playlist on at this point.

You know what though? It's good though, I'm like, this is great. You're fighting for gender equity, you stole your job from a woman. And now we're just doing the playlist, something to think about. It's something to think about. ["Sex and the World"] It's my understanding that you're a big sports fan. Is it just LA Rams, Lakers, all LA?

So I was born in Brooklyn and moved here when I was 16. So there's still a vestige of New York teams. So it's a hodgepodge of New York and LA teams, but I've been here- So you're Yankees Lakers fan? Yeah. Okay. Yeah. So the Dodgers have superseded. Dodgers and Lakers superseded the New York teams,

but the New York Giants are still in my DNA. And I love the Rams, but remember the Rams were not here. They were in Orange County, then they were in St. Louis. They came back, but since they've been back, it's been fantastic. So big Rams fan, but my, you know, kind of the team of my youth, which is still my team, is the New York football giants.

And the Lakers and Dodgers, they kind of got in the blood. Now, I heard you tell my guy Rich Eisen that you hate Boston teams. And I just wondered if a couple of Boston guys. Well, for those of us who won a victory in November, I'm wondering if we should be concerned that you seem to hate winning and hate excellence. Yeah, yeah, a lot of electoral votes in going after Boston

Success so it's so funny. My son and I went he was in DC during the playoffs and We we there are a lot of Boston fans as the finals a lot of Boston fans in this big sports bar we were at and We were like not rooting for them a couple of fans are like, are you not rooting for us? And I'm like, uh, see you. But I will say one of the, one of the highlights, but a lot of the folks on our team are from Boston. So I've got a, but one of the cool events is we went up

to see Robert Kraft, who's been doing a lot of work on anti-Semitism, fighting anti-Semitism. And he gave me a tour of his office, and he has a shrine to all the Super Bowl trophies. And I got to see that, one of which is dented. I think this story was by Gronk or something. And so- Hit a baseball with it. Yeah.

So his office and the rings, I got to meet the new coach and Mayo, yeah, but still not a fan Putin taking that ring still has it I think he still has he told me he told me that whole story with Putin in the ring He was very gracious. He has some really cool stuff in his office, some amazing bespoke Tom Brady paraphernalia and just stuff going way back. So he's like a real sports fan and also really into politics. He had some great political stuff in there too,

but the trophy room, it's like, it's one of those scenes you just see in one of these movies where it's just this big, long room and there's nothing else in there except these trophies. And they're just in this case. But you can't take them with you. You cannot take them with you. When you die?

Yeah, well you can't be buried in a pyramid, something to think about. Yeah, Kraft, great owner. Is he happy? Don't love his politics. Yeah, no, this is not political. I went there, not on politics, but on this fight against anti-Semitism,

we're all hauling that one together, and that's non-political. Maybe you can bring him to our side. I do think, my understanding is we have a hard out on this interview because your fantasy football draft is tonight. Now, the question I think is- Is that a first for Potsdamerica?

But I think that, I actually think that says a lot about you and your priorities, because I think I've heard you say that this is a league you've been in for like 34 years with your law school buddies? Or is this the White House league? No, the White House league, that draft was last night. This league is started in 1989 at USC, and it merged with my first law firm which I started in 1990. So it's basically a bunch of guys that I went to law school with and worked together. But it's the same, basically the same crew and maybe a new owner here or there, but it's

and even the new owners have been there for 15, 20 years. We're all now of a certain age that most of us have kids and sons and daughters who are now in their 20s to mid, early to late 20s, who have now come in to be a part of the league. So, Cole joined me about eight or nine years ago, I think, when he was getting out of college. And we're a very hapless team. I won once in 2000.

So 24 years ago, I won once. And you can now, because it's been on one of the apps for so long, it's literally like 12 teams, 12, 12, 11, 10, 11, 12, 12. And then two years ago, we decided, we gotta just take this more seriously. We gotta study, This is embarrassing. So two years ago we made the playoffs. And then last year we were the number one team

the whole season. We got to the finals. And I even told the team, okay, just tank, let us win. And if you let us win, we'll do next year's draft in the White House. Didn't work? Well, I'm here. So it didn't work. We lost. But it was... This is the year. This is going to be the year.

This league is so much fun. So I've got two great group chats. It's the one from my Jersey guys that I grew up with and this one of the team owners. And when I said the word, and that's when I met my my fantasy, there's 500 messages on that group chat. It's just so fun. That group chat got wild for your friends a couple years ago. This is like Meghan Markle's group chat, all of a sudden when she met Prince Harry.

It's like, I'm sorry, what? What have you been up to? They give you a lot of shit on the group chat now? Like, what's it been like the last couple of months? They always give me, we give each other a ton of shit because that's what a group chat does. Yeah, no, it's surreal for them. I think the highlight of their lives

was when I went on Matthew Barry to talk about our league and our team and my team and my draft. They just, that was more. Yeah, that was, I got a few, hey, great speech. That was really good. Not on the speech, but it was like, I got a few, hey, great speech. That was really good on the speech, but it was like, you said the fantasy, team Nirvana. Team Nirvana. Team Nirvana.

And this is just like a spreadsheet. Through Yahoo, I assume? This, that one's through ESPN. ESPN. Huh. I don't know what it is. I never, no one ever told me. It's really fun because it's a way to watch the games, Yeah, it is West Side. I don't know what it is. I never, no one ever told me.

It's really fun because it's a way to watch the games and now it's something that when the games are on, you're literally FaceTiming, texting all the people that you're in the league with and it's for Cole and I, especially over these last four or five years, it's so hard to stay connected to him. And it's a great way for us to stay connected and to have something that's just for he and I. And the fact that his dad came out here to sit with him to do the draft, he's just so happy right now that we're going to be, and me too, of course, that we're able to do this. So it's one little shred of normalcy in a going back,

bringing it all back to your first question, the way good lawyers do, that shut out of a cannon because we are traveling many hundreds of miles an hour right now and we're hustling for 60 some odd days to, like I said, to save our country, to win this election. But this is a working trip, I'm doing all these events while I'm here, but I'm also carving out this time for him because we still have to be parents to Cole and Ella and to everyone else in

that family. They still look to us. We still got to be present. And that was one of the great things about the convention, bringing, I mean, everyone together and they were all there, to just experience this thing together was very special, beyond special. We do want to just quickly show you that we did sell a mug with your face on it. It says Doug on a mug. I like the young Doug picture better. That's like super old Doug.

Well, we didn't have one for you because they sold out. Yeah, they sold out. They sold the cupcakes. So now maybe the second round we'll do. And because you're a lawyer, just so you know, we are legally allowed to use your money. I'm gonna just drop to cease and desist. You can't, no, we can't.

We have lawyers too, Doug. Oh, this public domain, this is like fair use. No, yeah, you're a public figure. I'm a mug you go. Fair use, huh? This is commentary, this is satire. Satire, parody. Parody, this is a parody mug.

You know, I teach this stuff at Georgetown Law School, man. So it's a, yes, you are, you're screwing me, but it's OK. OK, cool. Last question for you. What is one thing you know about your wife that you really hope the entire country gets to know over the next few months?

Only one thing? Well, I figured. See my speech. Can I redo my speech? No, that she is a badass. She is a super badass on so many levels. She has just done this. Her entire career has been for us.

I know it's just for the people, but it literally has. Everything she does, there's always a why behind it. She talked about why she became a prosecutor because of her best friend was being unfortunately molested by her stepfather. And you track so much of her policy and the stuff that she does to help us. There's always some family, there's always some reason. So here, famously, the mortgage crisis in California, where they were giving Californians pennies on the dollar, and I was here, and to see her fight for us, because she's then thinking about her own mother and the folks that she grew up with, who worked so hard to get those homes and then to lose

them like that. It's the story about shutting down the for-profit colleges here. You know, there's ripping off people. So for me, it's I want people to know that she really gives a shit. Like, she really does this stuff as a calling. It's, yes, she's in politics, but I don't see her as a politician. I see her as a very devout public servant at the highest level, and she's devoted literally her whole professional career for us,

and it's just great. You decide to call a person like that at 8.30 in the morning from your car, like she's a client, like you're rolling calls. Did your assistant catch you through? On a weekday. Just to go through. It's so funny you say that because I'm, it was. It was like, what am I doing? And it was that scene, the other John Favreau from Swingers,

and it's literally that scene just in my head. What am I doing? And then I'm like, don't call back, don't call back. And it's it, he just keeps calling back. No, that was, it he just keeps calling back. And now that was, it's just because I knew who she was. And I was just curious, OK, is this the person who's the fearsome Kamala Harris prosecutor

attorney general? Or is this someone who seems really cool? And maybe we'll hit it off. And it was really when she called, I'm telling you, when she called me back in that miracle where she happened to be at her desk and I happened to be at my desk, which never happens. And we basically talked for an hour

and it's like, wow, she's really awesome. She's funny, she's smart, she's, you know, interesting. Let's do, I'm in. So, and she happened to be in LA a few days later, and I said, she told me that, I said, okay, we're going out. Amazing. Congrats on winning that fight, by the way.

LA versus San Francisco, I lived in both. It's a no-brainer, if we're being honest. Yeah, yeah. We choose LA. It's pretty sweeter, yeah. I love LA. And wait till. It's pretty sweeter, yeah. I love it a lot. And wait till you try some of the Italian food. OK.

After the mic, after we shut these off, you're going to give me a list so I can spread out a little bit from the Toscana scene. No offense to Toscana. I love Toscana. The bread's cold, but it's OK. OK, enough with you and Toscana. Did you have a bet?

Did they not let you in? Oh, I know what happened. They didn't let him in. The bread's cold, but it's okay. Okay, enough with you and Tom. Did you have a bet? Did they not let you in? Oh, I know what happened. They didn't let him in. They didn't even know he was able to. So he's bitter about it. All right, we're gonna let you get to your fantasy draft. Doug Emhoff, thank you so much for coming on Pod Save America.

Thanks for the time and good luck in the draft tonight. We're gonna need it. Thanks guys. A couple of quick things before we go. Pod Save America is headed to Phoenix this Saturday, September 7th at Celebrity Theatre. Join us, Dan and guest host Jane Costin for a great show featuring Senate candidate Ruben Gallego. Get your tickets at crooked.com slash events now. Still tickets. Grab them. We'll see see in Phoenix. And also in the newest episode of subscription exclusive podcast polar coaster,

Dan and Elijah Cohn map out how Harris can win the electoral college and explore the campaign's possible routes to securing 270 electoral votes. To check out Dan's subscriber exclusive show and so much more, subscribe to Friends of the Pod on Apple podcasts or at cricket.com slash friends. That's our show for today.

How about Doug? How great is Doug? I just want to go get dinner with Doug at Toscana or anywhere else, I guess. Anywhere else. God. Toscana. What a blast.

So much Toscana. He's a nice guy. There's a little too much Toscana talk. It's just a personal issue, but you know what? He was fantastic. Thanks, second gentlemen, Doug Emhoff for coming by. There's a little too much to scanna talk. This is a personal issue. But you know what? He was fantastic. Thanks, second gentleman Doug Emhoff, for coming by. Good luck with the draft tonight.

We'll be back with a new show on Friday with Dan and me. We'll be talking about next week's debate with one of the moderators of the last one, CNN's Dan Abash. So tune in. Talk to you then. If you want to get ad-free episodes, exclusive content, and more, consider joining our Friends of the Pod subscription community at Cricut.com slash Friends. And if you're already doom-scrolling, don't forget to follow us at PodSaveAmerica on Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube for access to full episodes, bonus content, and more. Plus, if you're as opinionated as we are, consider dropping us a review to help boost this episode or spice up the group chat by sharing it with friends, family, or randos you want in on this conversation. Pod Save America is a Cricut Media production. Our producer is David Toledo.

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