Megyn Kelly plays and comments on an exchange between Rahm Emanuel and New Yorker editor David Remnick about how Democrats should handle “trans” issues. Kelly says Emanuel had previously told her he does not want men in women’s sports and does not believe a man can become a woman, but argues that in the Remnick interview he avoided addressing the underlying policy question directly.
In the clip, Emanuel pivots to education metrics, saying reading and maths scores are “in the tank” and claiming 50% of children cannot read or do maths at grade level, arguing that “bathroom access” should not dominate political debate. Remnick challenges the framing by invoking historic civil-rights arguments about marginalised groups being told to wait, referencing Martin Luther King Jr’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail”. Emanuel responds that he passed a bill in 2016 to ensure bathroom access for children but says he did not let the issue distract from academic outcomes.
Kelly then cites a critique she attributes to journalist Dave Weigel, saying Emanuel is comfortable discussing priorities but not specifying policy, including when asked whether a future president should undo Trump’s executive order on gender. Kelly speculates that Emanuel’s approach is tactical—aimed at avoiding confrontation with left-leaning audiences—rather than an explicit disavowal of his earlier comments to her.
Rahm Emanuel argues that debates about trans-related policies, including bathroom access, distract from poor literacy and numeracy outcomes in US schools. Pressed by New Yorker editor David Remnick, he says he supported bathroom access but insists the priority should remain reading, maths and graduation rates.
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