Mayor Rahm Emanuel offered up a warning Monday to Donald Trump after the Republican presidential front-runner failed to denounce an implicit endorsement from former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke.
“I think playing with dark forces [will] come back to haunt you," Emanuel said after casting his vote on the first day of in-person voting in Illinois. "This is not a joke.”
When asked whether Democrats should underestimate Trump, Emanuel gave what he called a larger statement on the issue.
“Donald Trump, in 'The Apprentice' show, that was kind of a faux reality show, where you auditioned for a job," Emanuel said. "He’s now auditioning for the biggest job in America. It’s not just the biggest job in America, the biggest job in the world."
"Over the weekend," he continued, "whether it was dealing with Mussolini or David Duke, his statements, or the lack of clarity around his statements – you know, you sleep in the bed you make.”
Trump was asked Sunday on CNN's "State of the Union" whether he rejected support from the former KKK Grand Dragon and other white supremacists after Duke told his radio followers this week that a vote against Trump was equivalent to "treason to your heritage."
"Well, just so you understand, I don't know anything about David Duke. OK?" Trump told host Jake Tapper. "I don't know anything about what you're even talking about with white supremacy or white supremacists."
The comments sparked a wave of censures with just two days to go before 11 states hold GOP primaries involving about a quarter of the party's total nominating delegate count.
Trump has since stepped back from the comments, saying that he couldn't hear the questions clearly, but Emanuel implied that's not enough.
"The idea that you cannot have your moral clarity as it relates to a quote by Mussolini or more importantly the support of David Duke associated with the Klan, is a statement that I think everybody should condemn with clarity and you don’t need to check on that," Emanuel said. "You should know better on instinct."
