Cole Emhoff<\/strong>: It\u2019s weird to turn on CNN and see my dad. I\u2019m like, \u201cWait, you don\u2019t belong there! But I guess you do?\u201d It feels completely unprecedented for us because we haven\u2019t really been around politics our entire life. We\u2019re still kind of getting used to it.<\/p>\n Ella Emhoff<\/strong>: When we went to see them for Election Day, it really hit me, like, Whoa. Seeing them is a lot different now. There\u2019s a lot more people. I think the idea of sharing our parents with the world is kind of insane. Like, it\u2019s a really cool thing to wrap your head around \u2014 because you get to share all the great things \u2014 but it\u2019s also like, Hunh?!<\/p>\n Was your family political growing up?<\/strong><\/p>\n Ella<\/strong>: Cole and I grew up having knowledge of politics. When Proposition 8 was happening [in California], we were really active in that. But I feel like it was in a different way than we are now. \u2026<\/p>\n Now this is like, we\u2019re really<\/em> in it. We\u2019re learning the behind the scenes. We\u2019re learning policy. But we didn\u2019t ever say, like, \u201cOh, we\u2019re going to be really political now!\u201d<\/p>\n What\u2019s it like being in a room with your extended family?<\/strong><\/p>\n Ella<\/strong>: It\u2019s like you get the most confident, strong personality people, a lot of them being women, and it\u2019s like you\u2019re layering all of them on top of each other and it becomes everyone trying to talk over each other. So it\u2019s a lot of really enthusiastic yelling.<\/p>\n So it\u2019s a family of strong personalities and also <\/strong>lawyers<\/em><\/strong>. What was that like growing up?<\/strong><\/p>\n Ella<\/strong>: It was nice to have so many different, really strong opinions. We always joke that whenever we bring our friends over for the first time they\u2019re going to get grilled. Like, if you don\u2019t have your 10-year plan, like, fully ready and outlined in a spreadsheet for them, you\u2019re not going to survive that meal.<\/p>\n Cole<\/strong>: They don\u2019t do well with small talk. It\u2019s like, Let\u2019s get down and dirty right there at our dinner table.<\/p>\n What kinds of things were your dad and stepmom asking about?<\/strong><\/p>\n Cole: I was a senior when they got together, and I remember I saw a tweet that someone did. It was a photo of Kamala at the Kavanaugh hearing, and someone tweeted, like, \u201cI\u2019d hate to have to look at that face and explain why I\u2019m late for curfew.\u201d And I was thinking, \u201cI\u2019ve literally had to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n Ella<\/strong>: They\u2019re definitely \u2026 they\u2019re strong.<\/p>\n Cole<\/strong>: I went to school in Colorado, and it was kind of a, not to say \u201chippie\u201d school but, like, very outdoorsy crunchy, if you will. And one of my friends wanted to go backpacking when she graduated, and Kamala was like, \u201cOK, so then what are you going to do with that after? Then what? And then what?\u201d And my friend still quotes that conversation as having kind of reframed what she felt like her path would be \u2014 in terms of having goals that were not in her immediate future. But I think they just want us and people to be intentional.<\/p>\n Ella<\/strong>: Yeah, like just have a plan.<\/p>\n How would you describe them as a couple?<\/strong><\/p>\n Cole<\/strong>: It depends on the setting. Because Doug and Kamala together are like almost vomit-inducingly cute and coupley. I\u2019m like, When is this going to wear off?<\/p>\n Ella<\/strong>: It\u2019s so insane. It\u2019s like the honeymoon phase forever. Like, the rest of the world gets to see it on social media, but we live that.<\/p>\n What is the parenting dynamic like between your mom, Kerstin Emhoff, and Doug and Kamala?<\/strong><\/p>\n Ella<\/strong>: <\/strong>I would say growing up, my mom was \u201cbad cop.\u201d I would get in trouble all the time, and Doug would always be like, \u201cOh, do you need a hug?\u201d Like, \u201cIt\u2019s OK.\u201d And then my mom would be like, \u201cGo to your room.\u201d<\/p>\n Your mom did mention that she found out about your tattoo on Instagram.<\/strong><\/p>\n Ella<\/strong>: Oh my God. OK. Well, when it comes to stuff like that, I think they all have conflicting ideas \u2014 and all of their ideas are like, \u201cEL-LA<\/em>.\u201d So I don\u2019t tell them. And luckily Doug and Kamala don\u2019t really see my Instagram.<\/p>\n Cole<\/strong>: Ella just banks on wearing long sleeves when she needs to.<\/p>\n Ella<\/strong>: The level of parenting between the three of them is very different now that we\u2019re both in our 20s and are kind of able to make decisions. So with hair and tattoos and things like that, I think they\u2019re all in the realm of like, \u201cI don\u2019t understand it, but I want you to be who you want to be.\u201d They have good communication between the three of them. They are really a unit, like a three-person parenting squad. It\u2019s really cool.<\/p>\n What\u2019s it like seeing your dad in this role?<\/strong><\/p>\n Cole<\/strong>: My favorite thing is if you scroll back through Doug\u2019s Instagram, you can see the progression from quintessential \u201cDad\u201d with, like, 10 followers \u2014 like, a selfie shot right under his face \u2014 to having hundreds of thousands of followers and legitimately being good at it.<\/p>\n Ella<\/strong>: Yeah, it\u2019s weird for us to see the change from going from this, like, normal, regular shmegular \u201cDoug\u201d \u2014<\/p>\n Cole<\/strong>: Also just a quick note, but we do call Doug \u201cDoug\u201d at home and always have. I consider it a term of endearment. \u201cDoug\u201d and \u201cdad\u201d are both one syllable; they sound similar so it almost felt like a nickname. And now I just can\u2019t stop.<\/p>\n Ella<\/strong>: People always stop me. They\u2019re like, \u201cWhat? Who\u2019s Doug?\u201d I\u2019m like, \u201cMy dad.\u201d<\/p>\n So wait, your mom is \u201cMom\u201d and Doug is \u201cDoug\u201d?<\/strong><\/p>\n Ella: Yeah, I write all emails: \u201cTo Mom and Doug.\u201d<\/p>\n What was it like when your parents split up?<\/strong><\/p>\n Cole<\/strong>: There was like a period of, I don\u2019t know how many years, when we called ourselves the \u201cPalazzo Crew.\u201d Because when Doug moved out, he moved into this apartment complex called the Palazzo. <\/p>\n Ella<\/strong>: It definitely, for the three of us, was really bonding. And I think we do have that sense of like, we made it through the random apartments, figuring out the dynamic of it being just us.<\/p>\n Cole<\/strong>: There was definitely a lot of learning to be done for everyone involved. Ella was in elementary school. I was in middle school. There was a time when we\u2019d go almost every night and get a sandwich for dinner at the Whole Foods deli counter next to our house. And Doug was like, \u201cWe need to eat better.\u201d So we\u2019d try to cook \u2014 and Kamala has turned Doug into, like, actually a good cook \u2014 but there was a period when Doug made what he thought was a great decision. He was like, \u201cWhat if I order premade meals for us that we can heat up once a week?\u201d But this was pre-Farmbox or whatever, so it was like a Craigslist-type situation. So we would just have these Tupperwares of like random spaghetti that were like stained red, that someone would bring to the house \u2014 and he\u2019d be like, \u201cHomemade dinner, guys!\u201d<\/p>\n How do you think he\u2019s going to adjust to Washington?<\/strong><\/p>\n Cole<\/strong>: I think Doug is a bit of a chameleon, and that\u2019s why everyone loves him. Like, he can fit in in any room.<\/p>\n Ella<\/strong>: He\u2019s a good talker.<\/p>\n Cole<\/strong>: I think of all people, Doug was like randomly born for this.<\/p>\n Your dad has never not worked, right? What do you think that\u2019s going to be like for him?<\/strong><\/p>\n Ella<\/strong>: I hope he takes up, like, another hobby. I hope he starts knitting, like I do. I think it\u2019ll be a good time for him to slow down and just, I don\u2019t know, like appreciate life. And tap into a lot of the things that he couldn\u2019t do because he was working so much or had these, like, time constraints. I hope that it opens up some of those creative outlets, but that\u2019s obviously just me, the creative child.<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2021\/01\/16\/us\/politics\/16emhoff-kids-2\/merlin_143325765_08c6fddb-fe48-40a8-b922-a8acab79e9c1-articleLarge.jpg\")
<\/p>\n