Kamala Harris's husband sticks to script, ignores Trump attacks at NH rally
Aug. 1—CONCORD — Doug Emhoff, Vice President Kamala Harris's husband, told several hundred supporters at an abortion rights rally Wednesday that the reproductive rights policies of former President Donald Trump were "immoral" and "barbaric."
"It's immoral, it's outrageous, it's barbaric and it's happening," Emhoff said.
He stuck to the script in his 15 minutes of remarks at the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Hall.
Emhoff, 59, made no mention of Trump having said a day earlier that his wife "dislikes Jewish people and Israel more than Biden did."
The Harris campaign on Tuesday said America was better than the "fear, hate and despicable insults" of Trump.
Emhoff is the first Jewish spouse of a sitting president or vice president in American history.
"This has been a surreal week or week and a half. We have barely been able to spend much time together and literally have been passing in the night," Emhoff said of life since President Joe Biden withdrew from the 2024 race and endorsed Harris to replace him.
Emhoff praised his wife for calling on Trump Tuesday to "say it to my face" and agree to a September debate between them.
Trump had agreed to debate Biden, but he has since declined to commit to facing off against Harris.
"I saw somebody who is just prosecuting a case against a felon, we all know that, calling out all the weirdness." Emhoff said to applause from the partisan audience.
Earlier, Abby Klausner of New York told of having to terminate her pregnancy in October 2023 after learning she was diagnosed with a form of leukemia while eight weeks along with her third child.
"I had to make an impossible choice to terminate the pregnancy so I could start chemotherapy to save my life," Klausner said.
Dr. Maris Toland, an OB-GYN, said states with restrictive abortion laws are finding it difficult to attract medical specialists.
Last week, Iowa became the 22nd state to adopt a law that was close to a total abortion ban.
State Republican Party leaders pounced on Harris, who posted on X Monday a map of the states with abortion bans that didn't include New Hampshire.
For more than three years, Democrats have been running against retiring Gov. Chris Sununu and the GOP-led Legislature for having passed what they branded as an abortion ban that outlaws the procedure after 24 weeks, as do more than 40 states.
NH law has no rape, incest exceptions
Unlike many states, New Hampshire's law has no exception for rape or incest, though it does exempt pregnancies when a mother's health is at risk or if the unborn child has a fatal fetal anomaly.
"Kamala Harris doesn't get much right — but even she knows that New Hampshire doesn't have an abortion ban.," Republican candidate for governor Kelly Ayotte of Nashua responded Wednesday.
Republican State Chairman Chris Ager led a small band of protesters who held Trump signs across the street from the Harris event.
"She's even more liberal than President Biden if that's possible," Ager said. "New Hampshire will reject her extremism."
Since Biden has pulled out of the race, three independent polls have had Harris out in front though Emhoff stressed that the race would be close and the hard work had only begun.
Later Wednesday, Emhoff met with 10 hand-picked "super volunteers" at the Gaslight District Diner in downtown Manchester.
Pooled press were present for the beginning of the meeting, which was closed to the media a short time later.
Campaign officials noted Wednesday's Concord rally attracted the largest crowd for the Biden-Harris ticket in New Hampshire.
Biden refused to campaign here or file in New Hampshire after he convinced the Democratic National Committee to change the calendar and try to strip New Hampshire of its first-in-the-nation primary position.
Despite that, activists mounted an aggressive write-in campaign that resulted in Biden winning big with nearly 65% of the vote.
