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AUSTIN, TX — Former U.S. Ambassador Rahm Emanuel hasn’t been shy about his potential prospects for the White House, but as 2028 approaches, the hypothetical Democratic field continues to get more crowded.
In an interview with Fox News Digital at the Texas Tribune Festival, Emanuel pointed to three things that separate him from the pack — if he chooses to run.
“Candor, authenticity and strength,” Emanuel told Fox News Digital.
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Former U.S. Ambassador Rahm Emanuel speaks at the Texas Tribune Festival in Austin, Texas, on Thursday, Sept. 24, 2026. (Joseph A. Wulfsohn/Fox News Digital)
Emanuel’s resume in Democratic politics is quite extensive, from serving as a top advisor for Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, as a congressman, as the mayor of Chicago to more recently serving as America’s top diplomat in Japan under the Biden administration.
If elected president, he insists he “knows what to do on day one.”
“I’m not gonna tell you what you’d like to hear. I’m gonna tell you what you need to know to make some of the tough decisions ahead,” Emanuel said. “We don’t have time anymore. We’re at a tipping point in the country. I think we’ve wasted a lot of time in the last 12 years trying to restore, as I said, a past that’s not coming back. We better think about a future that includes everybody. We don’t have a person to waste or a community to overlook and make the investments that make this country stronger.”
“And so I’m gonna be honest about it. And I think I bring a level of experience at multiple levels of government that actually, on day one, you start getting the job done. Because we don’t have a day to waste,” he added.
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Rahm Emanuel continues to mull a 2028 presidential bid. (Bryan Bedder/Getty Images for Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library)
The former ambassador has a long road ahead of him to seek the Democratic nomination as the RealClearPolitics average of polls currently does not have him among the top ten contenders. Former Vice President Kamala Harris maintains a substantial lead with roughly 25% average support among Democratic voters.
Trailing behind Harris at 14% is California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who recently made headlines when he announced he wouldn’t run for president if Harris entered the race.
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Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom recently made headlines saying he wouldn’t run for president in 2028 if former Vice President Kamala Harris entered the race. (Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu via Getty Images; Roberto Schmidt/AFP via Getty Images)
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Within a five-point margin of Newsom are former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg at nearly 13% support, New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, with nearly 11% and Georgia Sen. Jon Ossoff at roughly 9%.