The Return of Rahm
Rahm Emanuel, the famously sharp-elbowed former mayor of Chicago, White House chief of staff, and U.S. ambassador to Japan, appears to be laying the groundwork for a 2028 presidential run. Since returning stateside in January, he has launched an aggressive media blitz, making appearances on high-profile political talk shows, securing a CNN contract, writing op-eds for The Washington Post, and hitting the lecture circuit. His relentless return to the political spotlight signals what many insiders see as the inevitable: Rahm is running.
Emanuel is a relentless operator with a track record of winning political fights, making deals, and occasionally alienating everyone around him. He’s a walking embodiment of the Democratic establishment—pragmatic, power-hungry, and utterly indifferent to ideological purity tests. Whether his style resonates with modern voters or not, one thing is clear: he’s already shaping the 2028 conversation.
Who is Rahm Emanuel?
Emanuel has done it all in politics. He was a top fundraiser and strategist for Bill Clinton, a bruising enforcer as Barack Obama’s chief of staff, and a three-term congressman before serving two terms as Chicago’s mayor. His tenure in public office is marked by ruthless political calculations, from orchestrating backroom deals in Washington to strong-arming city officials in Chicago.
He is also famous—infamous, really—for his bombastic personality. Emanuel’s blunt, profanity-laced tirades are legendary. He once sent a dead fish to a pollster he disliked. He bullied, cajoled, and threatened his way through Congress. Even in Tokyo, where he served as the U.S. ambassador to Japan, he spent much of his time trolling China on social media rather than playing the role of statesman. As Politico noted, “He’s so full of ideas, angles, proposals and one-liners that in the pandemic days of 2020—a year removed from city hall and already itching—he called, texted and emailed former President Joe Biden’s campaign so often that aides had to eventually assign pollster John Anzalone to also handle the Rahm account.”
But experience? He has it in spades. And that’s his pitch: no other Democrat in the 2028 field will know how to wield power quite like him.
Why is He Running?
Emanuel is positioning himself as a centrist who can win—someone who understands how to beat Republicans at their own game. His early messaging suggests a focus on educational decline in America, using new data that shows two-thirds of eighth graders can’t read at grade level as his rallying cry.
“I am done with the discussion of locker rooms, I am done with the discussion of bathrooms and we better start having a conversation about the classroom,” Emanuel declared during a Democracy Forward conference in Washington, D.C., last month, drawing applause from the audience. He later doubled down on Real Time with Bill Maher, saying, “In seventh grade, if I had known I could’ve said the word ‘they’ and gotten in the girls’ bathroom, I would’ve done it. We literally are a superpower, we’re facing off against China with 1.4 billion people, and two-thirds of our children can’t read at an eighth-grade level.”
His remarks, while controversial, are calculated. He’s deliberately shifting focus away from cultural battles that have divided the Democratic Party, hoping instead to rally voters around a shared economic and educational message. His strategy is clear: Democrats need to stop alienating working-class voters with progressive social issues and start focusing on bread-and-butter concerns that resonate nationwide.
Emanuel clearly sees an opening. Democrats are demoralized after a brutal 2024 election. The party lacks a dominant frontrunner. And in an era where aggressive, media-savvy politicians thrive, who better than Rahm?
What Do Democrats Think?
Within Democratic circles, opinions on Emanuel range from reluctant admiration to outright hostility. Establishment figures like David Axelrod and Doug Sosnik acknowledge his qualifications and strategic prowess. They see him as a street fighter who knows how to win elections and govern effectively.
“Who has more relevant experience?” Axelrod asked in Politico. “He understands how to win and speaks bluntly in an idiom that most folks understand.”
But progressives? They hate him. He’s despised for his centrist economic policies, his clashes with unions, and his handling of the Laquan McDonald police shooting in Chicago, which critics say exposed his willingness to suppress information to maintain power. To the left, he represents everything wrong with the Democratic Party: a backroom dealer, an ally of corporate interests, and an architect of the old, Clinton-era politics they want to leave behind.
He also has a problem with Black voters, who are critical to winning the Democratic primary. His connection to Obama may be decades old, but his record in Chicago looms larger. “I’m not sure people in South Carolina know or care who Rahm Emanuel is,” said Gilda Cobb-Hunter, a longtime South Carolina Democratic lawmaker. “His connection to Barack Obama is decades old. We’re in a different time.”
What Do Republicans Think?
Republicans loathe Emanuel—but they also respect him. He’s the rare Democrat who plays hardball, something GOP operatives quietly acknowledge as a threat. As a political tactician, he understands opposition strategy better than most of his peers.
Some Republicans, particularly those in the moderate wing, might even prefer him over a more progressive alternative. But make no mistake: if Emanuel becomes the Democratic nominee, conservatives will paint him as the ultimate swamp creature—an elite insider whose deep ties to Wall Street, Hollywood, and international powerbrokers make him an easy target.
The Likely Path Forward
Emanuel faces steep challenges. He’s out of step with the progressive wing of his party, carries a reputation for being abrasive, and has never run for national office. But he’s also relentless, deeply connected, and perfectly suited for a media-driven campaign where soundbites and ruthless messaging are king.
At worst, a presidential run positions him for a high-level cabinet post—perhaps Secretary of State or Defense—under a future Democratic administration. At best? He claws his way through the primary, takes the fight to Republicans, and wins.
One thing is certain: if Rahm Emanuel runs, it won’t be dull.
NP Editor: This is a guy who specializes in manipulation, public perception, political operations and in general the worst part of politics. He is brilliant, but brilliant more like a Bond villain. I don’t know if he can gain traction, but if he wins, America is in deep trouble.
