Obama's Former Right-hand Man Rahm Emanuel Posturing For Presidential Run: Report

The list of potential Democratic presidential candidates for 2028 continues to grow.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom appears to have aspirations of podcasting his way from his crime-ridden state to the White House. Newsom's fellow governor Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania is also considered a contender — at least by the Washington Post. Among the numerous other middling prospects keen to throw their hats in the ring is Minnesota's honesty-impaired governor, Tim Walz, who recently indicated that he would run "if the circumstances are right."

Barack Obama's old right-hand man Rahm Emanuel — the Democrat who famously said at the outset of the 2008 financial crisis that "you never want a serious crisis to go to waste" — is apparently now also preparing to run, ready to exploit the crisis in the Democratic Party to distinguish himself from the pack.

Emanuel is a Democratic operative who fundraised for Bill Clinton ahead of the 1992 presidential election, then later served as his adviser, championing NAFTA; represented Illinois for three terms in the House; served as Obama's chief of staff from 2009 to 2010; and served as Biden's ambassador to Japan.

Between his stints with the Obama and Biden administrations, Emanuel served as mayor of Chicago for eight years, during which time he oversaw an explosion in the city's crime and rat infestation rates; secretly used a personal email domain for government work; dropped the ball on affordable housing promises; and saw 60% of his top 103 campaign donors receive city contracts, zoning changes, pension work, business permits, regulatory help, or other consequential benefits, according to a Chicago Tribune analysis.

Emanuel recently told Politico, "I'm not done with public service, and I'm hoping public service is not done with me."

The liberal publication previously propped up by federal subscriptions indicated that Emanuel's behavior since returning home from Japan hints at ambitions of pursuing higher office. He has sought to maximize his visibility, appearing on podcasts, securing a CNN contract, and consistently spilling ink in his Washington Post column.

'He understands how to win.'

Emanuel has also made his rounds on the lecture circuit, addressing deep-pocketed audiences at the Chicago Economic Club and at the Realtors Political Action Committee President's Circle conference last month. He is apparently set to speak at West Point as part of a broader service academy tour, which will allow him to test the waters with other voter demographics.

Politico suggested that Emanuel's recent efforts to play to opinion polls is further evidence that he is testing the waters. He has embraced popular Republican positions on gender ideology and the need to remedy bureaucratic bloat in the federal government, while criticizing the Democratic Party's leftist fetishes, which helped Kamala Harris lose in November and alienated American voters.

It appears that elements of the Democratic establishment are receptive to the idea of Emanuel as a candidate.

"Who has more relevant experience?" former Obama adviser David Axelrod told Politico. "He understands how to win and speaks bluntly in an idiom that most folks understand."

Axelrod apparently characterized Emanuel as the "remedy, not the replica, of a president with little interest in governance and the chaos that flows from that," according to a paraphrase from Politico.

While Politico appears convinced that Emanuel might try for the top seat, it appears that the 65-year-old Democrat is open to securing power at virtually any level. The Chicago Tribune reported that Emanuel has not ruled out running again for Chicago mayor or seeking the Democratic nomination for Illinois governor next year if Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) does not run again.

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