One potential 2028 Democratic presidential candidate has rejected a far-left idea that has permeated through his party in recent years.
Rahm Emanuel told conservative podcast host Megyn Kelly that he does not believe a man can become a woman, an idea that transgender activists have advocated and gotten even some members of their support.
‘Can a man become a woman?’ Kelly asked Emanuel, to which the Democrat responded with ‘no.’
‘Why don’t more people in your party just say that?,’ Kelly pressed.
‘Because I’m now going to go into a witness protection plan,’ Emanuel replied.
‘I’m not saying medically, I’m just saying it can’t happen,’ he added.
Emanuel is a straight white male with hard core Democrat party bonafides, both in elected office and appointed roles, but he has long been the target of progressives for taking a more pragmatic approach to electoral politics.
During the Biden administration, he served as Ambassador to Japan, and was the Mayor of Chicago before that. He was also one of Barrack Obama’s White House chiefs of staff, and served three terms in Congress in the early 2000’s.
‘I have a son and two daughters and they are physically different,’ Emanuel also said during the interview, which is likely to resurface if he is ultimately a candidate for the White House.
The remarks Emanuel made on Kelly’s podcast are also not the first time he has rejected the far left of his party in recent weeks.
In a letter published in the Wall Street Journal on June 26th, Emanuel appeared to caution his party from skewing too far to the left while commenting on the New York City Democrat Socialist mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani.
The letter is subtitled ‘we won’t realize the American dream by consulting the Democratic Socialists of America’s playbook’, and in it, Emanuel also notes that ‘America doesn’t necessarily go the way of the Big Apple.’
Emanuel was also not afraid to bite back at remarks made about him by former first son Hunter Biden.
The younger Biden accused Emanuel of walking away from party values.
‘We got to understand that these people are really mad, and we got to appeal to these white voters,’ Hunter Biden said in an interview with YouTuber Andrew Callaghan which aired Monday.
‘Rahm, the only people that f***ing appeal to those f***ing white voters was Joe Biden,’ Hunter added.
Emanuel responded to the criticism, noting that Hunter Biden was not where he would go for advice on his political strategy.
The former Chicago mayor has been gradually teasing his interest in a 2028 presidential run through a string of interviews.
‘My problem is, our party’s only been good in the locker room and the bathroom,’ Emanuel said referencing the ongoing debate over transgender issues. ‘And so, you got to be comfortable in all those rooms and understand that,’
But Emanuel maintained that there was a lane for his line of thinking, adding ‘I have something I think I can offer.’