Former Democratic mayor and U.S. ambassador Rahm Emanuel weighed in on President Donald Trump’s plan to accept a $400 million luxury jet from Qatar and revealed that he once took a hard pass on possible bribes from the Saudi government.
In a Wednesday appearance on “The View,” the former White House chief of staff said that he was staying at then-Saudi King Abdullah’s horse ranch during Barack Obama’s first visit to Saudi Arabia as president in 2009, when he was met with an opulent assortment of items upon entering.
“And let me just say, the horses look better than Section 8 public housing in America,” he said.
“You get there and walk in the room, and there was an ostrich briefcase. I open it up — diamond necklaces, earrings, bracelets, rings.”
He added that he then took a photo of the items and sent it to his wife, Amy Rule.
“I said, ‘Not happening,’” recalled Emanuel, noting that he then went to State Department officials to “chronicle” the offer.
During his interview, Emanuel dug into Trump, who looks to use the plane gifted by Qatar as his new Air Force One before sending it to his future presidential library. Emanuel pointed out that the “good news” is that people are aware of the “corruption” in his administration.
Americans “want a break” on the corruption, he said, yet House Republicans are acting as a “rubber stamp” for Trump.
“Somebody needs to be a brake on this chaos and this corruption,” Emanuel said.
Trump has attempted to justify accepting the plane, describing it as a “beautiful gesture” and stacking it up against the “many gifts” America gives to other countries, but a number of Republicans have flagged concerns with the offer.
After “The View” host Joy Behar noted that the gift appears to violate a clause in the U.S. Constitution, Emanuel declared that the White House has a “for sale sign on the front lawn, and everybody knows it.”
“Look, I’m from Chicago, we got a low bar,” said the former Chicago mayor.
“This is a cash-and-carry business over at this White House.”
Watch the segment below. Discussion of the Qatari jet begins at the 3-minute mark.
