Doug Emhoff, the husband of Vice President Kamala Harris, wasn’t having it when Bruce Fischer, the husband of Senator Deb Fischer, tried to shake his hand after refusing to shake Harris’s hand earlier this month.
It all started when Harris swore in new Senate members earlier this month, including Senator Deb Fischer (R-NE). During the ceremony, Harris extended her hand to Fischer’s husband, Bruce, but he didn’t take it. Instead, he just looked at her hand and said “thank you” before walking away.
Things got a little awkward when Harris, trying to keep things light, said to Fischer, “I’m not going to bite, don’t worry,” but the moment still felt tense, especially when Harris had to smile through it. It was clear from Harris’s expression that the snub didn’t go unnoticed.
Fast forward to a few weeks later, during a ceremonial tea at the White House before President Trump’s inauguration. Both the Fischers and the Emhoffs were there, since Senator Fischer helped organize Trump’s inauguration. According to CNN, Bruce Fischer tried to shake Doug Emhoff’s hand, but Emhoff wasn’t having it. “Why would you try to shake my hand,” he reportedly said, “when you wouldn’t shake my wife’s hand?”
Bruce Fischer later apologized for the awkward moment, and by the time everyone was heading to their cars to go to the Capitol, things had calmed down. The group ended up chatting about golf, of all things, keeping things polite after the earlier tension.
While the situation might have been uncomfortable, it seemed like everyone moved on by the end of the day.
