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On Stephen Colbert, Chicago Mayor Talks Trump, Sports and Pizza

Mayor Rahm Emanuel took his anti-Trump shtick on the road Monday when he stopped by "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert."

By Tracy Swartz

Mayor Rahm Emanuel took his anti-Trump shtick on the road Monday when he stopped by "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert."

In his first visit to the CBS show with Colbert as host, Emanuel stuck to his talking points about Chicago being a Trump-free zone and a welcoming city for immigrants.

"Our motto: A city he'll never sleep in," Emanuel said of President Donald Trump.

Emanuel kicked off his six-minute segment with an exaggerated strut to his seat. He pointed to audience members and soaked in the attention of the crowd, which had gone crazy for the prior guest, "Downsizing" star Matt Damon.

"Do you know that many people in the audience that you can point at that many people? I don't know that many people in the audience," Colbert said.

"That's the Emanuel family," Emanuel said.

Emanuel promoted his "Chicago Stories" podcast, which Colbert declined to be a guest on. Colbert asked the mayor a series of rapid-fire questions that Emanuel asks his podcast guests. None of the questions were controversial.

Emanuel chose Cubs over White Sox, thick crust over thin crust pizza and John Hancock Center over Willis Tower.

Colbert wrapped up the segment by asking Emanuel about Trump's announcement last week that the United States now considers Jerusalem to be Israel's capital.

"It's bad policy. The fact is, for a whole host of reasons, you do not want the United States in the middle of negotiations about a two-state solution. You know, my father is from Israel, (I have) been to Israel, my son's been Bar Mitzvahed there -- this is not what a president should be doing," Emanuel said. "Not only do I not think he should do that, my bigger worry is that he's now also moving the nation's capital to Alabama."

(c)2017 the Chicago Tribune

Caroline Cournoyer is GOVERNING's senior web editor.
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