In six weeks, Rahm Emanuel’s time as ambassador to Japan will come to an end, and the former Chicago mayor will move back to the city.
When he returns, what comes next? Will he run for office or take on a national role with the Democratic Party? Speaking with NBC 5’s Mary Ann Ahern on Tuesday in his first post-election Chicago TV interview, Emanuel weighed in on the November election and his future.
Emanuel always has a to-do list, and while he’s still in the process of figuring out what’s next, he said he will do it from his home in Chicago. He notes that public service can mean a lot of things – perhaps a behind the scenes role – but he’s not ruling out running for office again.
“There’s a lot of different ways to serve,” Emanuel added.
As the Democrats look to regroup, David Axelrod has suggested Emanuel – as a centrist – should be the next head of the Democratic National Committee, despite the pushback from progressives. The election for the new DNC chair is set for Feb. 1, 2025.
“I never even thought of the DNC until my best friend decided to float it out there,” Emanuel said. “If your goal in public life is to be liked by everybody, then you’ve done nothing. Full stop. My goal is not to be liked. My goal is to make a difference in people’s lives.”
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As for why the Harris/Walz ticket lost to President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance, Emanuel didn't mince words.
“When 70% of the country thinks the country’s headed in the wrong direction, the economy is not good, that is a structural anti-incumbent environment," he said.
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He spoke of his loyalty to President Joe Biden but also wrestles with how to react to the pardon for the president’s son, Hunter Biden, whom he recently pardoned after repeatedly promising not to do so.
“If you’re going to do as a father what he did, there was a way to do it that it didn’t create a political problem for yourself,” Emanuel said.
Emanuel has learned lessons from his time in Japan. Now, as he’s set to move back to Chicago for good in January, the conversations are shifting to: Will he run for mayor again? Or the U.S. Senate if Dick Durbin chooses not to seek another term? But the former Chicago mayor is keeping his lips sealed.
“You can put on your dancing shoes, your best smile. I’m not doing that. We’ll see. I have to talk to people that live here,” he said when pressed by Ahern about his political future.
He’s aware critics will quickly recall when he closed 50 Chicago public schools and the fallout for how he handled when Laquan McDonald was shot by a Chicago police officer 16 times.
The current mayor, Brandon Johnson, is currently facing multiple crises: from negotiating a budget, firing his close friend and communications director, to low poll numbers. Emanuel and Johnson have met privately a few times but not recently. When asked what advice he has for Johnson, the former mayor said he recognizes the heavy scrutiny that comes with the job.
“If he’s interested in my opinion, I will offer it to him in private … I know the pressures of that office. They’re hard, and I’m not here to make anything harder. I said I will help my successors. I cheer for the success of the city. In six weeks, while it’s always been my home, it will become my home again on a permanent basis. And I want the city, I want my mayor to succeed,” Emanuel said.
