It was just another morning on ABC’s Good Morning America where one former aide to a Democrat president sat down for a friendly chat with another former aide to a Democrat president. Ex-Clinton staffer and GMA co-host George Stephanopoulos brought on Obama chief of staff and former mayor of Chicago, Rahm Emanuel to tout his new book celebrating what else? Chicago’s liberal policies.
Now an ABC on-air contributor, Emanuel not only received a warm welcome from the host but the audience seemed filled with fans, because they cheered and reacted approvingly at several points during the interview. During the brief chat, Stephanopoulos didn’t really ask anything of substance, just allowed Emanuel a platform to tout liberal cities like Chicago offering “free college,” while making snide comments referring to the Trump administration.
Stephanopoulos opened the interview asking Emanuel to “tell us why mayors are running the world,” which is part of his book’s title. The Democrat bragged that liberal cities like Chicago had “strengths” that places like Washington D.C., Brussels and London did not.
Stephanopoulos followed up by inviting the former Obama official to trash the Trump administration:
“You actually say Washington is falling apart,” the GMA host prodded, which prompted this line from Emanuel: “Is there something in the news that you have seen recently that doesn't say that?” That drew chortles from Stephanopoulos and the audience.
Stephanopoulos then gave Emanuel ample room to tout liberal cities like San Francisco, Oakland and Chicago’s experiments in socialism by offering some in-state students “free” community college. While the audience cheered at Emanuel’s lines, Stephanopoulos didn’t offer any criticism over what these programs cost the taxpayer. Emanuel also criticized the Department of Education for being uninterested in the supposed “success” of these programs:
EMANUEL: Take a look at education. Chicago added four years of educational time. Full-day kindergarten for every child full-day pre-k for every child. You get a B average in high school, community college is free. Five other cities are now doing that. Six other states. Nobody has been called to Washington to testify. The secretary of education hasn't asked anything, and it's one of the most significant changes in education is free community college, and nobody is interested.
STEPHANOPOULOS: You talk about actually cities and mayors are learning from each other?
EMANUEL: Yeah. Ideas that -- think of, like, the New Deal. Workers' comp, and other policies. They would start locally and then move up. Today rather than vertical, the ideas move horizontally. For example in Chicago, they have smart light bulbs. LED lighting with other type of information. We replicated that idea. We started the first free community college. 8,000 kids did it. Boston is doing it, Denver is doing it. San Francisco is doing it. Oakland is doing it. It's just now moving around, and nobody has either testified or been called to -- how's it working? In the city of Chicago, 81% of the kids that use it, free community college, first ones in the family to go to college. Their retention rate and completion rate are double or triple the national average. [applause] So why is it that nobody is talking about it?
Stephanopoulos ended the interview by inviting Emanuel to get "personal" and share his family story which "inspired" the book. "Could your grandfather ever imagine you would be the mayor of the city of Chicago?" he gushed.
Read the transcript from GMA below:
Good Morning America
2/24/20
STEPHANOPOULOS: Tell us why mayors are running the world.
RAHM EMANUEL: First of all, Washington, Brussels, London are not really doing their job and all the weaknesses of those cities -- nations match up with all the strengths of cities. Cities are intimate, immediate, and impactful.
STEPHANOPOULOS: You actually say Washington is falling apart.
EMANUEL: Is there something in the news that you have seen recently that doesn't say that?
[Stephanopoulos giggles]
EMANUEL: Take a look at education. Chicago added four years of educational time. Full-day kindergarten for every child full-day pre-k for every child. You get a B average in high school, community college is free. Five other cities are now doing that. Six other states. Nobody has been called to Washington to testify. The secretary of education hasn't asked anything, and it's one of the most significant changes in education is free community college, and nobody is interested.
STEPHANOPOULOS: You talk about actually cities and mayors are learning from each other?
EMANUEL: Yeah. Ideas that -- think of, like, the New Deal. Workers' comp, and other policies. They would start locally and then move up. Today rather than vertical, the ideas move horizontally. For example in Chicago, they have smart light bullables. Led lighting with other type of information. We replicated that idea. We started the first free community college. 8,000 kids did it. Boston is doing it, Denver is doing it. San Francisco is doing it. Oakland is doing it. It's just now moving around, and nobody has either testified or been called to -- how's it working? In the city of Chicago, 81% of the kids that use it, free community college, first ones in the family to go to college. Their retention rate and completion rate are double or triple the national average. [applause] So why is it that nobody is talking about it?
STEPHANOPOULOS: We talk a lot about policy, but it's also very personal. The inspiration you drew from everyone in your family.
EMANUEL: You know my kids said, whatever you do, don't talk about grandpa because I will get choked up. So my grandfather came to Chicago, came to America from eastern Europe. 13 years old, put on a boat and his mother -- never saw her again or saw his family again. He makes his way through Chicago, meat cutter, steel worker, truck driver mainly, and we used to go Sunday nights to the family to his house in Albany. When he left the west side and makes it to Albany Park, he thought he had made it. I used to joke in the family, he raised a family in Albany park, my dad was a cop in Albany Park. My dad was a pediatrician in Albany Park, I was a congressman representing Albany Park. I said we traveled many miles, but didn't go very far in life.
STEPHANOPOULOS: Could your grandfather ever imagine you would be the mayor of the city of Chicago?
EMANUEL: He could if he could say, you're a schmuck.
[Stephanopoulos chuckles]
EMANUEL: That tells you about the strength of this country that within a generation and my dad's an immigrant from Israel. Within a generation, the city that welcomed him and gave him all the hustle and bustle, his grandson that he used to say would amount to nothing, and he may be right still, would become the mayor of the city of Chicago, let alone the chief of staff to the President of United States.
STEPHANOPOULOS: Congratulations, thanks for being here.
