CHICAGO — For the second time in two weeks, Mayor Rahm Emanuel is likening Gov. Bruce Rauner to Donald Trump, suggesting the governor is auditioning to be Trump's vice president.
Rauner said on Monday that it was a "major disappointment" that Emanuel has not challenged House Speaker Michael Madigan in the state budget fight. Asked later about the governor's remarks, Emanuel again linked Rauner to Trump.
"Last week, I said his rhetoric of division and divisiveness, of targeting one community against another or one group of people against another, was Trump-like," Emanuel told reporters outside the Merchandise Mart on Monday. "Now it sounds like he's auditioning to be Donald Trump's running mate."
"The governor of this state is using divisive rhetoric....playing one community against another. Talking about one part of the state is paying taxes and the other part not.”
Last week, Emanuel said, "Right now schools across Illinois need a leader, and instead Bruce Rauner is following the Donald Trump playbook of demonizing one group of people for his political advantage."
The linking of the Republican governor to Trump is designed to rile Rauner, who has tried to stay clear of the presumptive GOP presidential nominee. The governor has said he will not attend the GOP convention, declining what would have been a role heading up the Illinois delegation. His office has said that Rauner is skipping the convention to focus on the state's budget problems.
He declined to endorse Trump during the primary but has said he would support whomever the party nominates.
Last week, Rauner said Emanuel's linking the two were "goofy, personal attacks."
