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Rahm's One-Finger Salute Answers Presidential Run Question

By Heather Cherone | December 9, 2016 4:25pm | Updated on December 12, 2016 8:28am
 Mayor Rahm Emanuel.
Mayor Rahm Emanuel.
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DNAinfo/Heather Cherone

CHICAGO — Mayor Rahm Emanuel might sometimes try to cultivate a kinder, gentler image — but his famous temper was on display Thursday night while in Washington, D.C., according to a report.

Emanuel, who has been in Washington, D.C., this week to meet with federal officials on a range of issues, was having a great time at BLT Steak Thursday night, according to The Hill.

But then consultant Neal Hare asked whether Emanuel — who served as President Barack Obama's first chief of staff and as an aide to President Bill Clinton — planned to run for president in 2020, prompting the mayor to unleash his legendary temper in full view of a reporter.

Emanuel extended his middle finger — twice — toward Hare, prompting the crowd gathered around Emanuel to laugh. Warned that a reporter for The Hill was present, Emanuel dropped one of the F-bombs for which he is famous.

“I don’t give a f--- who she is,” Emanuel said, referring to the reporter by her own account.

Emanuel's predilection for salty language comes as no surprise for close observers of the mayor, who has never been once to mince words.

In 2005, Obama joked at a roast of Emanuel that an accident that sheared off the top of one of his middle fingers as a teen rendered him "practically mute."

The most famous F-bomb Emanuel dropped as mayor came during his first meeting with Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis in 2011.

"F--- you, Lewis," Emanuel allegedly said, as the two discussed a new contract for teachers. Ultimately, the sour relationship between the two contributed to a seven-day teachers strike.

Five years later, things are better with the mayor, Lewis said a few months ago.