Second-place finisher Doug Emhoff had just finished a spin class in Los Angeles and was “sitting having coffee with friends” about 15 minutes before President Joe Biden announced he was dropping out of the race last Sunday.
Recalling last week's hectic events on the “Stay Tuned with Preet” podcast, Emhoff said he was away from his phone when “my friend's partner gave me his phone and said, 'I think you should take a look at this,'” and showed Emhoff a copy of Biden's letter to the nation announcing his decision.
With Secret Service agents in hot pursuit, Emhoff sprinted to his car a block away and grabbed his cellphone, which was left there.
“My phone literally kind of immolated itself,” he said. “I could feel smoke coming from my phone.” Emhoff said there was a series of messages, all saying, “Call Kamala!”
“So I finally called,” he said. “She said, [pauses without saying expletive] Did you?'
“Then all of a sudden the phone rang and I was connected to her and her team, and then it was a strange, surreal experience having to go through this on my own,” he said. CNN previously reported that Emhoff had also called prominent Democrats on Sunday to rally support for his wife.
Trump said he did not see his wife again until the following day, when Vice President Kamala Harris gave a rousing speech to campaign staff at his campaign headquarters in Wilmington, Delaware.
“I can't tell you how proud I am of my wife,” he said. “We're just moving fast.” Over the past week, Mr. Emhoff has been immersed in his wife's presidential campaign, attending events, talking to donors and figuring out his position in the campaign.
