Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff, husband of Vice President Kamala Harris, denied a recent allegation, published in the Daily Mail, that he slapped an ex-girlfriend across the face in 2012.
A Wednesday report from the British outlet alleged that Emhoff assaulted his partner at the Cannes Film Festival in 2012, corroborated by interviews with Emhoff’s ex-girlfriend’s friends.
Per the report, Emhoff slapped his then-partner who was flirting with another man. The story goes on to say he followed her into her car as she fled. The victim of the alleged assault was unnamed in the article and did not comment to the publication.
The allegations have picked up steam amongst right-wing media and commentators, with Megyn Kelly and Trump aide Stephen Miller chiming in.
“If this were a Republican, it would be leading every news channel,” Kelly said on her SiriusXM radio show on Wednesday. “Most of us would have left it alone if he hadn’t then paraded himself out there — and let the media parade himself out there — like he was the ideal husband on steroids.”
Emhoff’s office vehemently denied the allegations in a statement to Semafor on Thursday.
“This report is untrue,” the statement said, adding that “any suggestion that he would or has ever hit a woman is false.”
Emhoff, who married Harris in 2014, has taken a prominent role in her campaign for president, adopting a “wife guy” persona, that he was asked about in a recent interview with MSNBC’s Jen Psaki.
“To me it’s the right thing to do– support women,” Emhoff said. “I’ve always been like this.”
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