Kamala Harris' rarely-seen stepdaughter Ella Emhoff, 25, spotted puffing a cigarette while walking her dog Jerry in Brooklyn as 'Momala' prepares 2024 presidential run
- Ella Emhoff defends 'Momala' after attack on vice president not having children
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- READ MORE: Meet Ella Emhoff, the artist stepdaughter of Kamala Harris
Her 'Momala' Kamala Harris is firmly in the spotlight now that President Joe Biden has dramatically dropped out of the presidential race.
But for Ella Emhoff, a Thursday routine was like any other as she took her dog Jerry out for a walk and dragged on a cigarette - with a Secret Service detail in tow.
But the 25-year-old, tattooed stepdaughter of the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee stood out like a sore thumb in hipster Brooklyn thanks to the hulking, dressed-as-preppies security duo on her tail.
The bohemian model and artist, who lives in New York City, has been responding to criticism that the Vice President has no biological children.
When asked about comments from J.D. Vance, the running mate of her stepmom's rival Donald Trump, calling Harris a 'childless cat lady', she said it was 'upsetting'.
She defended her 'Momala' on Instagram with the post: 'How can you be "childless" when you have cutie pie kids like cole and I' along with the thinking emoji.
'I love my three parents,' Emhoff wrote.
Her post came in response to a resurfaced clip of Vance from 2021 criticizing Harris during a Fox News interview which has now gone viral.
Ella Emhoff was spotted in Brooklyn, New York, smoking a cigarette and her dog Jerry while in the company of her Secret Service agents
In the clip, Vance told former host Tucker Carlson the U.S. was being run by 'a bunch of childless cat ladies who are miserable at their own lives and the choices that they've made and so they want to make the rest of the country miserable too.'
Vance, 39, specifically named Harris, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who is also from the Big Apple.
'The entire future of the Democrats is controlled by people without children,' Vance said. 'How does it make any sense we've turned our country over to people who don't really have a direct stake in it?'
The video started being recirculated as Vance was named Trump's pick for vice president and Harris secured enough delegates to become the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee with Biden dropping out of the race on Sunday.
The 25-year-old, tattooed stepdaughter of the likely Democratic nominee who will take on Donald Trump in November took a stroll in Brooklyn Thursday
The model and artist, who lives in New York City, has been responding to criticism that the Vice President has no biological children
When asked about Trump running mate J.D. Vance 's comments calling Harris a 'childless cat lady', she said it was 'upsetting'
She was spotted after defending her 'Momala' on Instagram with the post: 'How can you be "childless" when you have cutie pie kids like cole and I' along with the thinking emoji
Ella Emhoff defended stepmom 'Momala' Kamala Harris in an Instagram Stories post as a video of J.D. Vance attacking the vice president as childless went viral
Kamala Harris with husband Doug Emhoff and two stepkids Cole and Ella. Harris married their dad in 2014
While Harris has not given birth to children, she helped raise her two stepkids, Ella and Cole, 30, who are the children of her husband Doug Emhoff and his ex-wife Kerstin. Harris married Doug in 2014.
Doug Emhoff's ex, Kerstin, also came to Harris' defense with her own scathing response to the criticism.
'These are baseless attacks,' she said in a statement. 'For over ten years, since Cole and Ella were teenagers, Kamala has been a co-parent with Doug and I. She is loving, nurturing, fiercely protective and always present.'
'I love our blended family and am grateful to have her in it,' she continued.
Kerstin Emhoff has also posted numerous times in support of Harris' candidacy for president.
Ella Emhoff walks the runway at the Maisie Wilen fashion show during September 2022 New York Fashion Week
Ella Emhoff's Instagram post defending her stepmom from attacks on the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee
Doug Emoff's ex-wife Kertin Emhoff has also slammed the attacks on Kamala Harris calling them baseless and praising Harris as a co-parent
The video of Vance has also received backlash from others including actress Jennifer Aniston.
Aniston, 55, took to Instagram Stories on Wednesday with harsh words for Vance.
'I truly can't believe that this is coming from a potential VP of the United States,' the Friends star wrote. 'All I can say is… Mr. Vance, I pray that your daughter is fortunate enough to bear children of her own one day.'
Artist and model Ella Emhoff, above with dog Jerry, on a beach trip and looking fashionable on the ski slopes, has said of her upbringing, 'I love my three parents'
'I hope she will not need to turn to IVF as a second option. Because you are trying to take that away from her, too,' she continued.
Aniston, who is currently starring on Apple TV+'s The Morning Show, has been candid about her issues with fertility and trying to have a child over the years.
Another Democrat specifically named in Vance's attack, Buttigieg, announced in September 2021 that he and his husband adopted infant twins.
That announcement came more than a month before Vance made his comments.
