Interview: Rahm Emanuel On Global Disorder, Age Limits For Leaders, And A Possible 2028 Presidential Run

As he considers a 2028 presidential run, Rahm Emanuel joined us in studio for a wide-ranging and candid conversation about power, politics, and the moment the U.S. finds itself in right now.

Emanuel has served at the highest levels of government — in Congress, as President Obama’s first chief of staff, two terms as mayor of Chicago, and most recently as U.S. ambassador to Japan. We dig into the rapidly shifting global order, including Greenland, U.S. alliances, China, Ukraine, Gaza, Israel Iran, and Venezuela.

On President Trump’s second term, Emanuel acknowledges that he shares some underlying goals — including the need to confront China, fight for the American worker and reassess broken global institutions — but is sharply critical of Trump’s tactics, execution, and what he sees as lasting damage to America’s image, alliances, and long-term leverage abroad.Emanuel is blunt in his criticism of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s conduct of the Gaza war, while also defending Israel’s right to exist and protect itself. He warns that political realities around Israel have fundamentally changed inside the Democratic Party. We talk about what that mean if he decides to run for the Democratic nomination.

The conversation also turns personal: growing up in Chicago, parenting, and life as one of the three Emanuel brothers — alongside Ari Emanuel, the legendary Hollywood agent, and Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel, a leading physician.

Mosheh Oinounou (⁠⁠@mosheh⁠⁠) is an Emmy and Murrow award-winning journalist. He has 20 years of experience at networks including Fox News, Bloomberg Television and CBS News, where he was the executive producer of the CBS Evening News and launched the network's 24 hour news channel. He founded the @mosheh Instagram news account in 2020 and the Mo News podcast and newsletter in 2022.