Former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel won't decide on potential 2028 presidential campaign until after 2026 midterms
Former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel said on Thursday that he won't make a decision on a possible run for president in 2028 until after the upcoming midterm elections.
Emanuel was at the Obama Presidential Center for a series of one-on-one interviews about youth mentorship.
Emanuel helped push forward a mentorship program in his years as Chicago mayor. On Thursday, he outlined the successes and struggles of the Becoming A Man program and the Working on Womanhood program.
Both helped shape former President Barack Obama's My Brothers Keeper national program.
Emanuel is eying a run for the White House in 2028, but has said he will wait until after the 2026 midterms to decide his path forward.
"At the end of the day, you've got to basically have a take on what I think is ailing America, and then you have not only the answers but the strength, and you've got to have the honesty," he said. "For 12 years, we've had two presidents, both parties, who are trying to restore a past that is not coming back. This election is about a future."
Emanuel declined to answer when asked to weigh in on the state of the city, and whether Mayor Brandon Johnson has the city on the right track or if City Hall needs a fresh set of eyes on the 5th Floor, saying he doesn't comment on his successors.
He said, ideally, the selection of a new Chicago police superintendent would be picked to sync up with the 2027 mayoral election to get a better caliber candidate, and he talked about where things went off the rails between the city, the state and the Chicago Bears in the team's bid for a new stadium.
"There's probably enough blame to go around, and I'm not interested in the blame game. Look, I want the Chicago Bears to stay A, in the city, or B, in the state," Emanuel said. "I think at the end of the day, it will happen, because I think it's in everybody's mutual interest, even though they're gritting their teeth and everything like that."
