Jessica Yellin asked Rahm Emanuel about his presidential ambitions and he claimed he’s still deciding — but leaned far in, telling her he’s “going to make my claim” on “education” and “access to the American dream.”
And though he wouldn’t handicap California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, he took a subtle shot at both without naming them: 2028 needs to be “about having a positive vision for the future, not fighting Trump.”
It’s a good interview.
Ashley Parker: “The laws of political journalism dictate that any profile of Rahm Emanuel—who is all but declaring a 2028 presidential run—must crackle with Rahm Anecdotes that capture the propulsive, relentless behavior of a man who’s slugged his way through the political Thunderdome for four decades…”
“But this profile, Emanuel informed me, will not be one of those profiles.”
“I don’t even want to talk about that, because the sad thing is I have the highest numbers I ever had… If you read it, it’s pretty clear: I’m not allowed to run. It’s too bad. But we have a lot of great people.”
— President Trump, talking to reporters about running for a third term.
On the question of whether he would run for a third term in 2028, President Trump told reporters on Air Force One: “I would love to do it — I have the best numbers ever! … Am I not ruling it out? You’ll have to tell me.”
Steve Bannon told The Economist that there was “a plan” to circumvent the 22nd Amendment, which states that “no person shall be elected to the office of the president more than twice,” regardless of whether the terms are consecutive.
He also suggested that he was part of a team developing that plan.
Said Bannon: “Trump is going to be president in ’28, and people ought to just get accommodated with that. At the appropriate time, we’ll lay out what the plan is.”
California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who has become one of President Trump’s most high-profile adversaries, told CBS News that he will consider whether to run for president after the 2026 midterm elections.
Kamala Harris told the BBC she may run again for the White House.
Said Harris: “I am not done. I have lived my entire career as a life of service and it’s in my bones.”
She added: “If I listened to polls, I would have not run for my first office, or my second office — and I certainly wouldn’t be sitting here.”
Playbook: “New Hampshire Democrats are circulating a memo to DNC members, arguing their case to return to the first-in-the-nation primary slot, after being demoted ahead of the 2024 cycle.”
“The next stop on the 2028 campaign trail: New Jersey and Virginia,” Politico reports.
“Ambitious Democrats are barnstorming the Garden State and Old Dominion to support their party’s gubernatorial nominees — Rep. Mikie Sherrill and former Rep. Abigail Spanberger, respectively — as they get an early start to boosting their name ID and road testing their messaging ahead of what’s expected to be a jam-packed presidential primary.”
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) believes that Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) would make a formidable presidential candidate in 2028, Axios reports.
“Ocasio-Cortez is positioning herself for a political leap in 2028, whether for president or challenging Chuck Schumer in a Democratic Senate primary.”
Jonathan Last: “After authoritarian regimes are toppled, monuments to the authoritarians are always removed. If you leave monuments to authoritarians standing, then you encourage (a) resistance from the out-of-power revanchists and (b) future strongmen who believe they can permanently mark history.”
“Would Trump supporters be antagonized by demolition of the Trump Presidential Palace Ballroom? I bet they would.”
“But we’ve tried the strategy of non-antagonism, in which Merrick Garland refrained from aggressively pursuing criminal accountability for Trump while Joe Biden shoveled money into red states to create jobs for Trump voters while building rural broadband and better roads to solve their Kitchen Table Issues.”
“Those acts of goodwill increased Trump’s vote share from 2020 to 2024. So maybe the way to persuade Republican voters to abandon their authoritarian project isn’t conciliation but domination.”
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear (D) told reporters a presidential run is something he and his family will “consider” if they feel he’s the best candidate for the job in 2028, the Cincinnati Enquirer reports.
Said Beshear: “What’s most important is that we have a candidate that can heal the country. And so if we think that might be me, it’s something we’ll consider. But if that is another candidate, I care much more about this country than I ever will about a title for myself.”
“Powerful members of the Democratic National Committee will soon decide how states will be chosen to be among the first to vote in the 2028 presidential primaries, moving the party closer to one of the most important decisions it will make in the coming years,” CBS News reports.
“Since they entered California politics over 20 years ago, Kamala Harris and Gavin Newsom have ducked a one-on-one showdown. Now the Democratic rivals are barreling toward what could be a contest on the biggest stage: the 2028 race for the White House,” Axios reports.
“It could be a Hollywood script: The former vice president, now touting a new book, is seeking redemption after falling to Donald Trump last year.”
“The California governor, a rising star, has burst onto the national stage this year as a leading voice in the resistance to Trump.”
“Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro is wading into a state Supreme Court race this fall that both parties say has far-reaching implications for the 2028 presidential race, upcoming midterms and future redistricting in the premier battleground state,” CNN reports.
“Shapiro, a potential 2028 contender himself, appears in an ad launching Tuesday for three Democratic justices on the ballot in November, warning Pennsylvanians that ‘the threats to our freedoms are very real.'”
Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) told the New Republic that meaningful political opposition to President Trump could be seriously constrained.
Said Murphy: “My belief has never been that he’s going to cancel the election in 2026 or 2028—he’s not going to do that. Turkey still has elections, Hungary still has elections, Russia still has elections.”
He added: “The leaders in those countries just constrain that space the opposition can operate in, such that they never have enough room to win a national election. If we are not already there, we are really, really close. Which is why the only way out of that is to make them pay a political price every time they ratchet up pressure on the opposition.”
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.
Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.
Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.
Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.
Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.
