Analysis: The Irish experience with presidential spouses could be useful for Doug Emhoff should his wife Kamala Harris triumph next week
In 1990, Barbara Bush spoke at a commencement address to a group of students at Wellesley College. Some did not want the wife of US president George H.W. Bush to speak, believing that she defined herself only through the person she married rather than as an individual with her own life and interests. She understood the reaction, but seized the opportunity to explain her views on the conflicts and opportunities facing women trying to balance careers and family.
Bush also said that perhaps someone in the audience might one day follow in her footsteps as an aide, supporter and helpmate to a president...."and I wish him well!' Later in that decade, when the possibility of ‘Billary’ in the White House emerged, public concern intensified about the joint presidency of Bill Clinton and Hillary Rodham Clinton, which negatively affected the latter’s poll ratings.
There are notable differences between the 'first gentleman' role in the US and in Ireland - and the absence of a defined role of being 'first gentleman' has assisted the Irish men
John Dwight Ingram was one of the few scholars to define the duties for a 'first gentleman' in American politics. Ingram suggested that the incumbent could serve as official host at home and abroad, manage the White House residence, participate in public appearances with the president or on his own, but it all depended on whether or not he continued with his own career.
Two assumptions are inherent here; first, that a first gentleman could have a choice and second, his career equated in importance to that of his wife’s even though she was now president. The expectations of the role were also gendered; a first gentleman would not be disempowered as an individual in the same way as a first lady. His continued income earning ability and attendant power and authority would be unchanged. This argument is heavily infused by gendered assumptions still dominant in wider society– the male incumbent has choices and could exercise independence unavailable to females.
In countries such as Ireland, Britain, Germany and Banglades, we have seen Nick Robinson, Martin McAleese, Philip May, Denis Thatcher, Joachim Sauer and Asif Ali Zardari assume the first gentleman’s role. Each has interpreted the role in different ways thus illustrating the flexibility which is available to a first gentleman. At the time of writing, America has not yet elected a female president, but Kamala Harris has become the presidential candidate-in-waiting for the Democratic Party which raises the possibility of Doug Emhoff becoming the first ‘first gentleman’.
From the Jimmy Kimmel Show, interview with Doug Emhoff
Evidence suggests that Nick Robinson’s professional and personal interests may have made it easier for him to accommodate himself to the loss of his paid employment. Moreover prior to the presidential election in 1990, he and his wife, Mary Robinson, had agreed on the necessity of this decision to avoid potential conflicts of interest.
Martin McAleese raised the issue of ending his detal career himself with then Taoiseach Bertie Ahern to assist his wife, Mary McAleese, secure Fianna Fáil’s endorsement for her candidature. Although it took him some time to relinquish his practice, McAleese started work on the president’s flagship cross-community project, Building Bridges, in Northern Ireland. President McAleese described this work as ‘full-time and pro bono’ thereby acknowledging a partnership presidency. Martin McAleese had dedicated state-funded administrative assistance and approval from the Taoiseach and his government.
It is likely, therefore, that Robinson and McAleese would have agreed with Dan Mulhern, husband of Jennifer Granholm, Michigan’s 47th governor, that the role reversal was ‘humbling’. Describing his tenure, Mulhern said it was ‘extraordinary, magical, really confusing, disempowering, humbling, uplifting’ and he was extremely proud of his wife.
In 1990 and again in 1997, Ireland showed that being a woman president was possible and the same could be said for being the first partner if you were a man
There are notable differences between the ‘first gentleman’ role in the US and in Ireland. The absence of a defined role of being 'first gentleman' has assisted the Irish men. In the United States, the president’s wife role was gradually transformed from ‘ceremonial backdrop to substantive world figure’ with dedicated state resources. During Rosalynn Carter's term, the federal government more formally recognised the first lady as a ‘bona fide federal position’ within the presidency, albeit undefined in the US constitution. Unlike in Ireland, automatic congressional monies were voted for the office of the First Lady on the basis that the spouse assisted the president in fulfilling his duties.
As the second gentleman to vice-president Harris, Doug Emhoff has already carved out a role for himself and has travelled to 37 states and 14 countries. He has engaged with such issues as healthcare, education, legal, business and heard stories from community representatives to understand how the US administration assists them and their families.
If Emhoff assumes the role of ‘First Gentleman after next week's election, he already has a public profile independent of the presidential candidate and been subjected to scrutiny by the public and the media. While he has overlapping interests with the vice president (for example, equality and reproductive rights), he also has specific personal concerns such as combatting antisemitism, arising from his Jewish culture and heritage.
From PBS Newshour, Doug Emhoff delivers campaign remarks on antisemitism for Kamala Harris to Jewish voters in Pittsburgh
Once in Arás an Uachtaráin, neither Nick Robinson nor Martin McAleese experienced limitations on their personal agency in their private lives and both men were integral to organising and implementing the president’s agenda. Both men carved out separate roles and lives for themselves and felt less encumbered by protocol than their female predecessors perhaps due to the persistent societal assumptions of men as autonomous agents.
The ‘woman behind the great man’ trope was amended to include another gendered depiction as one journalist commented of Martin McAleese, ‘A total rock’ but he was also a ‘very important part of the presidency’. In 1990 and again in 1997, Ireland showed that being a woman president was possible and the same could be said for being the first partner if you were a man - which suggests that Emhoff should fare just fine if the opportunity comes his way.
Bernadette Whelan is the author of Irish First Ladies And First Gentlemen, 1919-2011 (Cork University Press, 2024)
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The views expressed here are those of the author and do not represent or reflect the views of RTÉ
