Former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel said Sunday that America is ready to elect its first Jewish president, making the case on NBC’s “Meet the Press” as he continues weighing a 2028 Democratic presidential bid.
Asked by moderator Kristen Welker whether the country was ready for a Jewish president, Emanuel said yes, then redirected the conversation toward what he called a deeper national problem.
“My faith is not your problem,” he said. “The fact that Americans have lost faith in America, that’s our problem. And we should work on that because I’ve seen a generation of people with an emptiness who’ve lost faith in America because they think America lost faith with them. That’s our problem. It’s not my faith.”
Elizabeth Barcohana, chair of the California Republican Party’s Subcommittee for Jewish Engagement, rejected the comments in a statement to Fox News Digital, saying simply, “He sounds pathetic.”
Emanuel has held a long list of government posts: Chicago mayor, Democratic congressman, White House chief of staff under President Barack Obama, and U.S. ambassador to Japan under President Joe Biden. He has increasingly fueled speculation about a 2028 run.
He told Welker he would not change his religious identity to win votes and pointed to his record as evidence of how his faith shaped his decisions in office.
“If my faith is a problem for you, don’t vote for me,” he said. “I’m not changing my faith. My faith led me to struggle and fight the insurance companies that were denying kids healthcare. My faith led me to take on a failed education system where we were known as the worst city, and I walked out, and we were the best city on education.”
He added that his faith guided him to confront “powerful forces,” naming pharmaceutical companies, insurance companies, and what he called a failed education bureaucracy, on behalf of American families.
Emanuel tied that message directly to a possible campaign. “If I decide to run, that is our collective mission, is to restore that faith,” he said.
The Sunday remarks came a little over a week after Emanuel discussed his ambitions with Fox News Digital at the Texas Tribune Festival in Austin. Asked what would set him apart in a crowded Democratic field, he named three things: “Candor, authenticity and strength.” He also said his experience across levels of government means he “knows what to do on day one.”
Closing the NBC interview, Emanuel said he expects Americans to judge candidates on more than religion, while making clear his own position would not move.
“I believe in the goodness and the grace of the American people – but my, I will not change my faith,” he said.
