6 OctOber 31 - NOvember 6, 2024 miaminewtimes.com | browardpalmbeach.com New Times | music | cafe | culture | Night+Day | news | letters | coNteNts | REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK The only menu item at Doug Emhoff’s Broward rally was Trump roast. BY ZULEKHA PITTS R ecent days had seen star-studded action on the Democratic presi- dential campaign trail, with Kamala Harris campaigning with R&B icon Usher in Atlanta and Detroit hosting former presi- dent Barack Obama alongside rapper Eminem. And on Wednesday, October 23, it was South Florida’s turn in the spotlight, as the hoppin’ municipality of Hallandale Beach welcomed none other than Second Gentle- man Doug Emhoff, accompanied by a hand- ful of Sunshine State politicians and a high school marching band. Having had an entire week to recover from that time we whiled away an hour watching Donald Trump cause undecided voters to roll their eyes and scowl, we figured we were ready for another civics field trip. So we got ourselves officially credentialed and made our way north to behold Emhoff’s appearance at an event billed as a “Get Out the Early Vote” rally. The venue, an edifice called the Austin Hepburn Center, revealed itself to be a cav- ernous, warehouselike structure that gave off a Scooby-Doo ghost-town vibe — which might have had something to do with the fact that reporters were instructed to arrive at 11 a.m. for an event at which the guest of honor would not materialize until seven hours later. That, and the lengthy, uncomfortable wait outside in the sun to be cleared by security. Once inside, members of the press were corralled into a section in the back, where the view of the stage was less than ideal, and there was no food or water. One reporter who was savvy enough to stop at a gas station to pick up some beef jerky became the envy of the corral. It wasn’t until hours later that a few warm bottles of water were distributed. Two minutes later, at 5:08 p.m., the proces- sion of speakers commenced, as if perfectly timed to ensure no one fainted. Go Cobras! The modest crowd was somewhat dwarfed by the Costco-esque surroundings and, at least early on, by the Boyd Anderson High School Cobras Marching Band from Lauder- dale Lakes, 15 miles to the north. Their reper- toire varied from country hits to Taylor Swift’s “Cruel Summer” to almost the en- tirety of Beyoncé’s Renaissance album, with Motown favorites from the likes of Stevie Wonder and the Jackson 5 filling in the gaps. Likewise, on the subject of marching, there was the procession of speakers leading up to Emhoff’s eventual arrival. Florida Dem- ocratic Party Chair Nikki Fried delivered a fi- ery speech, likening Trump to his purported Nazi man crush: “Donald Trump wants his presidency to be that of Hitler’s.” And speak- ing of fiery, U.S. Rep. Frederica Wilson got the crowd chanting, “Fire up, ready to vote!” and reminding those present of the chaos of Janu- ary 6, 2021. “This was encouraged by Donald Trump himself,” Wilson said, urging one and all to show up to the polls. In fact, all the speakers other than Emhoff were women: U.S. Rep. Sheila Cherflius-Mc- Cormick, Florida Sen. Lauren Book, U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, and former U.S. Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, who is challeng- ing incumbent Republican U.S. Sen. Rick Scott, also spoke. Mucar- sel-Powell, drawing a personal connec- tion to Harris, quipped that one of the many things they have in com- mon is “marrying cute Jewish men.” Just after 6 p.m., Emhoff entered to the strains of Kend- rick Lamar’s “They Ain’t Like Us,” courtesy of the Cobras. Savvy and gracious, the guest of honor opened by praising the band, quipping, “I should bring them on the road.” The Main Event Emhoff wasted no time getting to the purpose of his visit: The orange elephant who wasn’t in the room. “We really need to listen to what Donald Trump is saying,” Emhoff warned. “We need to hear what’s coming out of his mouth and, more importantly, let’s listen to what oth- ers are saying about him. We all lived through it, got through it somehow when he was presi- dent. But this time around, he poses an even greater threat to the economy, [to] women, and to our very democracy. You can see it. He’s completely unhinged, unfit, and un-American.” The first Jewish spouse of a sitting U.S. vice president, Emhoff also spoke of his own identity in light of the former president’s pur- ported Hitler fixation. “I’m also speaking as a Jewish person,” he said. “Trump defended Hitler, saying, ‘Well, Hitler did some good things.’ He’s already told us that he will blame the Jews if he loses this.” The crowd stirred as Emhoff continued, calling out Trump’s authoritarian aspirations. “He wants to be a dictator. He embraces it,” Emhoff declared, then asked, “Are we going to give it to him?” “No!” the crowd responded in unison. Other themes included Trump’s denigra- tion of women — “Donald Trump, make no mistake, is no friend to women. He has shown himself to be a threat to women. He brags about stripping away Roe v. Wade, followed by a call to pass the statewide initiative to enshrine abortion in the Florida constitution. “Make sure you vote for Amendment 4,” Emhoff de- clared, sparking chants of “Yes on 4!” from those assembled. (He couldn’t resist an aside regarding the former president’s seeming fixa- tion with Arnold Palmer’s penis: “You hear his references to Arnold Palmer? What is that?”) At the close of the Second Gentleman’s 30-minute speech, campaign staff hustled the members of the press who’d endured the en- tire event (let the record show there were two) to a van that sped back down I-95 to- ward Emhoff’s other Miami appearance, a re- ception at the Biltmore in Coral Gables. There it was more of the same for report- ers, which is to say no direct access to Emhoff, just more talk of Trump’s threat to democracy. But there was food: bread, marinated artichokes, mozzarella balls, and prosciutto. Looked like it had been sitting there for a while, but reporters aren’t known for their pickiness. Especially when they haven’t eaten all day. [email protected] Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff speaks to the crowd during the Get Out the Early Vote rally. Photo by Zulekha Pitts | METRO | EMHOFF WASTED NO TIME GETTING TO THE PURPOSE OF HIS VISIT: THE ORANGE ELEPHANT WHO WASN’T IN THE ROOM.
