Kamala Harris recounts her and husband Doug Emhoff's touching reaction after learning of Prince's death
NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: It’s official! Vice President Kamala Harris and her husband Doug Emhoff are massive vinyl nerds. The Democratic presidential candidate and the Second Gentleman apparently can’t resist popping into local record shops - even during the chaos of campaign season.
The duo are also big music enthusiasts, and Harris opened up about just how much during a revealing chat with Howard Stern on his SiriusXM show on Tuesday, October 8.
During the interview, Harris shared a touching story about how she and Emhoff reacted when they found out Prince had died in April 2016.
Howard Stern and Kamala Harris talk about Prince
Howard Stern kicked off the interview with a bit of nostalgia, playing his favorite Prince album - the 1989 'Batman' soundtrack. He queued up “Batdance,” knowing that Harris was a massive fan of the late singer.
Stern even went on to call the 'Batman' soundtrack Prince’s best work, noting that it held the No 1 spot on the Billboard 200 for six weeks.
But Harris disagreed. “No, 1999 I thought was spectacular. You can go back to his early days. Him on the guitar, there was just nothing like it," she said.
The Veep was adamant that Prince’s earlier work was where his true genius shined, adding, “Even you look at Bruno Mars today, who's just been influenced by Prince.”
But Harris recalled that emotions were high the night Prince died. Harris and Emhoff were in Los Angeles when they heard the news of Prince’s tragic death from an accidental fentanyl overdose at the age of 57.
Despite their differing music tastes — Emhoff is a Depeche Mode fan, while Harris grew up with hip-hop — Prince was the artist they both loved.
“The night he passed, Doug and I were in LA and actually just—he and I have very different musical tastes… [he's into] Depeche Mode, that's him, I grew up kind of hip-hop—but Prince is the one intersection where we both love, and we just played Prince all night long. We danced, we sang his songs, that was our little tribute,” Harris fondly recalled.
Politics, Formula One, and the Sphere
Of course, the conversation wasn’t all about music. Harris — who has been on a rigorous media tour ahead of the close presidential race with former President Donald Trump — delved into politics as well.
She was outraged over claims in Bob Woodward’s new book that Trump allegedly sent Covid testing machines to Russian President Vladimir Putin at the height of the pandemic. Harris said she thinks Trump is being played by his authoritarian pals.
“I grew up in the neighborhood,” Harris told Stern, “Some would say you’re getting punked if you stand in favor of somebody who’s an adversary over your friends on principles that we all agree on.”
While she didn’t reveal who she’d choose for her cabinet if elected, Harris did speak highly of former Republican congresswoman Liz Cheney.
"I gotta win, Howard. I gotta win. I gotta win. And listen, but the thing about Liz Cheney, let me just say, she's remarkable," she said.
Harris also touched on some lighter topics, like her obsession with Formula One racing and her admiration for Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton. But perhaps the most surprising part of the chat came when Harris revealed her experience attending U2’s mind-blowing opening show at the Sphere in Las Vegas, Billboard reported.
“Oh my God, have you been to the Sphere?” Harris asked Stern, recounting her experience at the U2 concert. She humorously advised anyone planning to go, “Let me just say, basically everyone should go in with a clear head,” she said after Stern admitted that he’d been nervous about the overwhelming visuals.
Stern chimed in with a warning: “Like don’t be high,” to which Harris laughed and agreed, “Correct. Because it's a lot. Like there's a lot of visual stimulation," adding, "I love U2 and actually it was a surprise for Doug."
