Is Doug Emhoff hot? It may matter more than you think

Attractiveness, for better or for worse, can help win elections, particularly in a meme-driven election cycle

The Jewish summer camp crush to wife guy who loves taking selfies pipeline. Courtesy of Getty Images/X

By Mira Fox July 26, 2024

The people thirst for Doug Emhoff. Online, thanks to a viral photo of Emhoff at age 20, giving a dopey little smirk to the camera in a blue Laguna Beach tee, legions of commenters are alternately drooling and congratulating Kamala Harris on her husband.

“Wait THAT’S what Doug looked like back in the day? Okay, Kamala 😏”

“He just handed you a mixtape, shrugged sheepishly, and rode off on his skateboard before you could swoon.”

“Literally what every girl wants when she says she’s looking for a good Jewish boy.”

And these comments are only among the more, uh, PG of the options. One post sets the ‘80s-era picture to a lewd rap about what they want to do to “Dougie,” as everyone has apparently dubbed this younger version of Emhoff, all night.

People are comparing him to The O.C.’s Seth Cohen, for his kind of dorky guy-next-door appeal; to “the guy from Shtisel,” by which I assume they mean Michael Aloni, who played the lead; and to Joseph Gordon-Levitt. (Judging by his celebrity lookalikes, Emhoff’s Jewishness features large in his hotness.)

Pick your player for the young Doug celebrity lookalike contest: Adam Brody, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Michael Aloni. Photo by Getty Images/X

OK; it’s a fun trend, but who cares who the latest viral heartthrob is? Well, in an election year, kind of everyone. As it turns out, being cool and hot is very electable.

Maybe it’s the stale but still accurate adage that we like candidates we think we’d like to drink a beer with. Maybe it’s because we associate other good traits with attractive people. Maybe it’s even evolution. Whatever the reasons, though, being tall, dark and handsome is a campaign boon — or, in this case, having a husband who is, since the spouse’s likability often accrues to the candidate.

That’s perhaps why the post on X that made young Dougie go viral quite literally contained the instruction to turn him into a TikTok crush: “I need Gen Z to see this picture of Kamala’s husband in the 80s and make him TikTok’s white boy of the month.”

Emhoff’s transformation into an object of lust comes alongside numerous fancam edits of Harris set to the summer’s hottest pop anthems. And there’s the perennially viral image of the vice president, also from the ‘80s, with her curly hair cropped short, looking untouchably cool in a coat with the collar turned up. Add that to the couple’s current-day personas of “Momala” and “unabashed wife guy-slash-dorky Jewish dad” and the Harris campaign gets a winning public image that spans the range from relatable to aspirationally hot.

Why does young Kamala Harris look like she’s about to drop the hottest album of 1982? pic.twitter.com/botT8MxWKb
— Godspeed You Black Tamperer (ft Maya) (@twlldun) July 23, 2024

It may seem shallow and meaningless to try to vibe check a political candidate’s cool points — after all, these people are vying to lead one of the world’s great superpowers, to have access to the nuclear codes, to appoint justices who end up ruling on our freedoms to get abortions or marry the people we love. Shouldn’t we be more worried about their policy record?

The answer is yes; obviously that’s important. But the fact of the matter is that campaigns are also, enormously, about branding, vibes and optics. That’s why Donald Trump is frequently making digs about physical attributes of his opponents — mocking Harris’ laugh, Carly Fiorina’s facial structure or Chris Christie’s weight — while playing up his own cred as a big-time businessman and golfer. It’s a different kind of cool than the affable guy-next-door vibe Emhoff’s old pic projects, but a version of coolness nonetheless.

In a race where appearances matter, seeming cool, particularly in a relatable, Jewish summer camp crush kind of way, can only be a good thing. Whether it’s for prom king or First Gentleman, people vote for people they want — or want to be.

Mira Fox is a reporter at the Forward. Get in touch at [email protected] or on Twitter @miraefox.

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