The effervescent Mike Allen, who once served as a Connecticut reporter for the New York Times, and now writes for Politico, found himself in a high profile tussle with the Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel Wednesday.
The video from the stand off is going viral in the Chicago to D.C. political world. It was sparked when Allen asked Emanuel about his plans to travel to Cuba over the Christmas holiday. Emanuel claimed that piece of information was not meant to be public, but in this morning’s Politico Playbook, Allen explains what was really going on.
Acting!!
POSTGAME THOUGHTS: First, the chances that RAHM EMANUEL was going to pull off a secret mission to CUBA are roughly zero. As @JakeSherman tweeted: “Of course Rahm – a public figure since 90 – knew he wasn’t going to go to Cuba for Christmas w/o people knowing. Mayor of 3rd largest city!” Emanuel should get an Academy Award for that video. His alumni explained that I had experienced what it was like to be in his morning meeting, EVERY day.
Second, Emanuel knows psyops: During the sustained police questioning earlier, he had criticized me for mispronouncing a name that it turns out I had pronounced correctly — just to try to throw me off. He instantly, correctly deduced that his scolding would have people buzzing about Cuba instead of cop shootings. I talked to the mayor afterward and he was fine: He said it was his wife, Amy Rule, who would be mad, not him.
