Former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel suggested that other Democratic mayors shift their focus away from LGBT issues in schools and toward academics.
Emanuel appeared on Real Time with Bill Maher on Saturday, just as current Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson’s approval rating is less than seven percent.
Emanuel advised Johnson, as well as the mayors of New York City and Los Angeles, to prioritize “safe streets, strong schools, and stable finances.”
“We’ve gone through five years where people became way too permissive as a culture,” the mayor said. “I’ll say this about our schools: I don’t want to hear any more about the locker room. I do not want to hear another word about the bathroom. You should start focusing on the classroom.”
The statement drew applause from the studio audience. At the moment, eighth graders have set a nearly 30-year low for reading scores.
The 2024 National Assessment of Educational Progress released its report in January, indicating that students have yet to achieve pre-pandemic reading scores.
Emanuel went on to express the risk that schools are taking by allowing students to enter locker rooms or bathrooms based on their gender identity.
“In 7th grade, if I had known I could have said ‘they’ and got in the girls bathroom, I would have done it,” Emanuel said as he giggled.
Emanuel’s remarks come after President Donald Trump issued an executive order prohibiting transgender athletes from participating in women’s sports. California schools are openly defying this order as well.
