Former Chicago mayor says the US is ready for its first Jewish president

WASHINGTON (TNND) — Former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel says that the United States is ready to have its first Jewish president.

Emanuel is weighing running for president in 2028. During an interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press” over the weekend, he said that it’s concerning that Americans are losing faith in the country.

Moderator Kristen Welker asked Emanuel if he believed the U.S. was ready for a Jewish president.

“My faith is not your problem,” he answered, according to Fox News. “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.”

Emanuel, who is Jewish, said that he wouldn’t alter his faith for political support.

He was U.S. ambassador to Japan under former President Joe Biden, was a Democratic congressman and was former President Barack Obama’s chief of staff.

Emanuel said that if he were to enter the race, his goal would be to restore Americans’ confidence in the country.

“I’m not changing my faith,” he stated. “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.”