On a recent episode of “The New Yorker Radio Hour,” former Democratic Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel clashed with The New Yorker’s David Remnick. The debate centered on whether the Democratic Party should focus on transgender issues. Emanuel, seen as a potential 2028 Democratic candidate, has often criticized the party for engaging in far-left cultural debates over “kitchen table” issues. He believes these cultural debates distract from important concerns.

During the interview, Remnick challenged Emanuel, quoting him as saying, “You say you’re, quote, ‘Done with the discussion of locker rooms. I’m done with the discussion of bathrooms, and we better start having a conversation about the classroom.’” Remnick pressed Emanuel, questioning if Democrats should stay silent amid attacks on transgender rights.

Emanuel defended his tenure as mayor, citing successful education reforms and his early support for transgender bathroom access. “In 2016, I passed a law, a decade ago, on bathroom access,” he said. Emanuel shifted the focus to the need for educational improvements, highlighting a rise in graduation rates from 56% to 84% during his time as mayor.

Remnick retorted, “Why can’t you do both?” Emanuel argued the party had become preoccupied with cultural issues rather than responding to urgent financial concerns facing constituents. “You have an issue, in which coming out of COVID also is a lightning rod that distracted,” he noted, emphasizing the importance of tackling financial burdens and educational challenges over debates like bathroom access.

Emanuel continued by distancing himself from certain far-left actions and policies, mentioning controversies such as removing historical figures’ names from schools and reactions to terms like “Latinx.” He stressed the real issues at hand, such as education quality, were being sidelined. “We’d just come out of COVID. Our reading scores and math scores are in the tank,” he said, highlighting the need to focus on these key issues.

Remnick compared transgender issues to past civil rights struggles, citing Martin Luther King Jr.’s writings to stress the urgency of addressing rights. Emanuel countered, emphasizing that real progress in key areas was essential for future success. He noted, “People have accepted failure” where core skills like reading and math are concerned, to the detriment of students’ futures.

Emanuel concluded by underscoring the importance of prioritizing education to ensure children’s acceptance and readiness. “One of the things we did in Chicago — the only city to do it… nobody gets a high school degree without showing us a letter of acceptance from a college, a community college, a branch of the armed forces, or a vocational school,” he stated. These actions, he argues, equip children better for future challenges.