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Rahm Emanuel called out to his face for throwing trans people under the bus
April 25 2025, 08:15

In a fire-breathing exchange on her podcast “I’ve Had It,” Bravo star Jennifer Welch ripped Democratic insider Rahm Emanuel sideways over his lack of support for trans people.

Emanuel, an establishment Dem who’s served as an Illinois congressman, Chicago mayor, President Barack Obama’s chief of staff, and most recently as President Joe Biden’s ambassador to Japan, was posed Welch’s signature question, and said he’s had it with poor Democratic messaging.

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The longtime LGBTQ+ ally agreed with Charlie Kirk on excluding trans girls from school sports.

Democrats were “fighting for the wrong things,” were “south” on kitchen table issues, and “weren’t really good about the family-room issues,” Emmanuel said, dismissing the Harris campaign.

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Welch said she disagreed “100,000,000 percent,” prompting Emanuel into the breach.

“The only room we were doing really well was the bathroom, and that’s the smallest room in the house,” Emmanuel replied with a laugh, clearly pleased with his “rooms” analogy and making light of trans rights.

That lit Welch’s fuse.

Jen and @RahmEmanuel have a tough conversation on Tuesday’s episode of I’ve Had It. pic.twitter.com/5VzN3jxmPO

— I've Had It Podcast (@ivehaditpodcast) April 21, 2025

“That is such bullsh*t, total bullsh*t,” she said. “That is buying into the right-wing-media narrative and I’m sick of Democrats like you selling out and saying this. You know who talks about trans people more than anybody? MAGA.”

Emanuel struggled to press his claim that Democrats had focused on the wrong issues, but Welch overwhelmed him, displaying just the kind of fire Democratic voters are begging for.

“Kamala Harris talked about homeownership. She talked about kitchen-table issues,” she insisted. “Trump’s over there, droning on about Hannibal Lecter.”

“This is where the Democrats lose because we’re playing the game with the rulebook,” Welch asserted. Republicans “ripped the rulebook up and crammed it down everybody’s throat,” while Democrats like Emanuel “are upset because Joe Biden pardoned his son.”

“We gotta f*cking fight!” Welch demanded. “They’re the gender-obsessed weirdos, not us. We’re the ones who fight for Social Security, we fight for Medicare, and we’re not gonna bully trans people. We’re not gonna f*cking do it. If you wanna do it,” Welch told Emanuel, “fine.”

Emanuel, who famously pushed Clinton toward compromise with Republican leaders during his presidency, called trans issues “tangential” and not a “core” Democratic concern. When Welch said Democrats shouldn’t bully transgender people like Republicans do, Emanuel joked about being “bullied” himself.

Other Democrats have laid Harris’ loss at the feet of transgender people, as well.

Following the election, Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-NY) and Rep. Seth Moulton (D-MA) both lamented what they called a focus on trans rights in the campaign — despite the fact that it came from Republicans.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) surprised supporters in March when he questioned the “fairness” of trans girls competing in school sports.

But Welch was unrepentant over what she called core Democratic values.

“I’m gonna fight till the bitter end. I’m not gonna let some MAGA moron define what progressive values are. [That’s] a really dangerous precedent.”

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