Rahm Emanuel Disses New York

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By Renee Ghert-Zand April 4, 2012

We all knew that Chicago Mayor and former White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel was a competitive kind of guy. But now he’s carrying it a bit too far.

Gothamist has its knickers in a twist because the Windy City’s head honcho apparently dissed New Yorkers while doing an interview with a local Chicago magazine called Michigan Avenue. Emanuel reportedly overheard a visiting New Yorker “raving” about the Chicago skyline before adding “but I still love New York.” This remark didn’t sit well with the mayor, who couldn’t refrain from turning to the tourist and saying, “That’s the thing about you New Yorkers. Always talking about how much you love your city. Here in Chicago, we just do.”

OK, it’s clear to us that Emanuel thinks that his city is number one. But can you really hold it against a person for sharing her pride for her hometown?

And come to think of it, Emanuel’s got a lot of chutzpah insulting New Yorkers for thinking that their city sets the standard, when the Michigan Avenue article (“Rahm Emanuel: Mayor of the People”) has a photo of Emanuel riding to work on the subway. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg had been there, done that —long before most people had even heard of Rahm Emanuel.

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