The former two-term Chicago mayor dropped a generous hint to a 2028 presidential run.
Rahm Emanuel leaned into speculation about a 2028 presidential run on Wednesday.
After hosts of ABC’s “The View” told him he sounded like a presidential contender, the former two-term Chicago mayor didn’t exactly deny it.
“I am in training — I don’t know if I’ll make the Olympics,” said Emanuel, who served in both former presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden’s administrations.
Emanuel — a longtime critic of President Donald Trump — has said he wants to return to elected office and is said to have eyes on the presidency. But it’s not just the Oval Office he’s been linked to.
In recent months, Emanuel hasn’t ruled out runs for just about every top job in Illinois — including the governor’s mansion in 2026, Sen. Dick Durbin’s seat and Chicago mayor in 2027. But his recent remark suggests he may be zeroing in on the White House.
Leading up to the moment, Emanuel laid out what sounded like a campaign stump speech.
“The American dream is unaffordable. The American dream is inaccessible,” Emanuel said during the interview. “And that should be unacceptable to all of us … Everybody in this audience, they just want one thing — for their kids to have a shot and the problem is Washington has given them the shaft and that is wrong.”
He also took a swing at Trump’s recent decision to accept a swanky new jet from Qatar.
“The White House has a ‘For Sale’ sign on the front lawn — and everybody knows it,” Emanuel said.
Emanuel’s resume is long: U.S. ambassador to Japan under Biden, Obama’s chief of staff, two-term mayor and congressman. His brash speaking style has drawn comparisons to Trump, though Emanuel’s politics are decidedly establishment Democrat.
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