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Former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who is weighing a 2028 Democratic presidential bid, said Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that America is ready to elect its first Jewish president, arguing that voters should be more concerned about Americans losing faith in the country than his own religious beliefs.
When moderator Kristen Welker asked whether the country was ready for a Jewish president, Emanuel answered yes before turning the question toward what he described as a broader loss of confidence in America.
“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.”
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Elizabeth Barcohana, chair of the California Republican Party’s Subcommittee for Jewish Engagement, dismissed Emanuel’s remarks in a Sunday statement to Fox News Digital.
“He sounds pathetic,” she said.
Emanuel, who served as Chicago mayor, a Democratic congressman, White House chief of staff under former President Barack Obama and U.S. ambassador to Japan under former President Joe Biden, has increasingly fueled speculation that he could seek the Democratic nomination in 2028.
During Sunday’s interview, he said he would not alter his religious identity for political support and pointed to his record in government as evidence of how his faith influenced him.
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“If my faith is a problem for you, don’t vote for me,” he said.
“I’m not changing my faith,” Emanuel said. “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.”
“My faith guided me to make sure that the American people and their families had what it took as a government fighting powerful forces, whether it’s pharmaceutical companies, insurance companies, or in fact, educational failed bureaucracy,” he added.
Emanuel directly connected that message to a possible campaign, saying restoring Americans’ confidence in the country would become part of his mission should he enter the race.
“If I decide to run, that is our collective mission, is to restore that faith,” he said.
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The remarks came just over a week after Emanuel discussed his presidential ambitions directly with Fox News Digital at the Texas Tribune Festival in Austin. When asked what separated him from a potentially crowded Democratic field, Emanuel pointed to three attributes.
“Candor, authenticity and strength,” he said.
Emanuel said that his experience across different levels of government meant he would know what to do immediately upon taking office, saying he “knows what to do on day one.”
At the time, Emanuel had been openly considering a White House run as other Democrats also positioned themselves ahead of 2028.
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Emanuel, however, told Welker on Sunday that he believed Americans would ultimately judge a candidate beyond religion and reiterated that his own faith was not negotiable.
“I believe in the goodness and the grace of the American people – but my, I will not change my faith,” he said.
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