Former Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel says he is ‘very seriously’ considering a presidential run

During his May 26 visit to Dartmouth, former Chicago mayor and U.S. ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel announced his plans for higher education reform, including caps on tuition increases. In an interview with The Dartmouth following the event, Emanuel said he is “very seriously” considering a run for president.

The event, hosted by the Rockefeller Center for Public Policy, was moderated by Tuck professor Charles Wheelan. Approximately 200 people attended in Filene Auditorium, according to Rockefeller Center associate director for public programs and special events Dvora Greenberg Koelling. A livestream recording of the event on YouTube has 620 views as of May 28. 

Emanuel served as former President Barack Obama’s White House chief of staff from 2009 to 2010. He was elected the 55th mayor of Chicago in 2011, serving from 2011 to 2019. Emanuel then served as U.S. ambassador to Japan under former President Joe Biden from 2021 to 2025. 

During the event, Emanuel outlined his plan to reform higher education through federal legislation. The plan includes universal free tuition for households making less than $200,000 per year, a path for graduation in three years for students with 20 college credits out of high school and a 20% cap on international student enrollment.

“Too many of our kids are graduating college with $30,000 plus in debt, which is the average,” Emanuel said. “Rather than a ticket to independence, it’s a ticket to their parents’ basement.”

Democrats should stop talking about “bathroom and locker room access” and instead focus on “classroom excellence,” he added 

“I do not know how you believe in equity and become complacent with 50% of your kids not reading at grade level,” he said.

As mayor of Chicago, Emanuel implemented full-day universal kindergarten for all children and made post-high school plans a graduation requirement. The Democratic Party has “lost the plot” on education, he said.  

“The party better … stop worrying about a school being named after Abraham Lincoln and start worrying about whether kids know why Abraham Lincoln matters,” Emanuel said.

On United States-China relations, Emanuel said the United States is “isolated” because of the “stupidity of our foreign policy” under the Trump administration.

“It’s unbelievable what we’ve done to ourselves, and by choice,” Emanuel said. 

Emanuel said that China is only ahead of the United States because the American government has “defaulted” on domestic policy, adding that America is “sleepwalking.” 

“China doesn’t decide whether 50% of our kids don’t read at grade level,” Emanuel said. “China doesn’t decide whether we’re going to have a budget that cuts 40% of the [National Institutes of Health or] 30% of the National Science Foundation.” 

Emanuel said at the event that he supports a 10% tax on online sports gaming and predictive markets.

“This [the tax] may not make me popular but … it [the money raised] all goes into the National Institute of Health, National Science Foundation and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency [in] the Defense Department, doubling the size of our research dollars,” Emanuel said. 

Emanuel said students at Dartmouth are the “lucky few” to study at a “great institution.”

“If I could ask one thing of all of you, take a year of your life and dedicate it somewhere for public service,” Emanuel said to the audience.

In an interview after the event, Reece Sharp ’28 said she had “adverse reactions” to Emanuel’s education policy because she thought it was “not properly thought through.”

“I think there’s a lot more to be done and a lot more to be said about how to improve lower education here [in the U.S.] and higher education,” Sharp said. 

Jacob Berry ’29 said he attended the event because Emanuel is a “well-known” politician, adding that his education policy was “interesting.”

“Politics is a huge part of everyone’s life,” Berry said. “So being able to see these people is something that’s cool to talk about and also learn a lot more about.”