Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel ripped the head off of Politico’s Mike Allen for asking him about his upcoming family trip to Cuba.
Wednesday at the inaugural Illinois “Playbook” Breakfast, Allen said to Emanuel, “We were saying backstage the you want to come back as an Emanuel child, you’re taking your young people on fascinating trips around the world, headed these holidays to Cuba, Why?”
Emanuel replied, “Well first of all, thanks for telling everybody what I’m going to do with my family. I really, we had a private conversation with me, and now you decided to make that public. I really don’t appreciate that. I really don’t, that’s my family. You asked me, what are you going to do this year, so I am expressing to you now publicly my displeasure.”
“My family’s trips are my family,” insisted Emanuel. “That said, Amy and I as parents make a decision every year to take our children to see other parts of the world, that’s something my parents did with me because I think it’s not only great family time but most importantly, it’s great family time where they don’t have to share me as a mayor but they get to have me totally 100% as their father.”
“But more importantly, they get to be exposed to other cultures, other parts of the world, and one of the things we want is for our children to know that the world has people of different faiths, different backgrounds with different ways of living and coping with similar situations,” claimed Emanuel.
“Our kids have seen other parts of the world, and yes this year, if my wife doesn’t kill me now because of what you just did, we will take our kids to Cuba to be exposed to that culture in the same way they’ve been to Indian, in the same why they have been to Uganda, Kenya, Zambia, Chile, and Vietnam, and Laos,” suggested Emanuel.
“I can’t wait, can you give me your cell number, because I would like you to listen to Amy,” said Emanuel.
Allen then apologized and Emmanuel retorted, “I don’t know if you know this, it’s not going to work.”