Former Obama chief of staff Rahm Emanuel used a Sunday appearance on Fox News to draw a hard line between the Democratic Party and the democratic socialist movement, telling host Shannon Bream he does not consider democratic socialists part of the party at all.
Bream had asked Emanuel to respond to Senator Bernie Sanders, who has said “people are sick and tired of the Rahm Emanuels” and argued the party’s energy is shifting toward socialism rather than figures from its past.
“I don’t consider Democratic Socialists part of the Democratic Party,” Emanuel said. “About four weeks ago, they had a convention in Chicago, separate party. They believe in defunding the police, letting prisoners out of prisons, opening the borders, eliminating the Pentagon. If you’re so confident people want that, I’ll see you in November. Put it on the ballot. Let’s go run as a separate party.”
Emanuel argued the Democratic Party is not up for a takeover, describing it instead as home to a “progressive wing and a pragmatic wing” that agree the economic system is “rigged against working-class, middle-class families” but disagree on the fix. He said he gives progressives “credit” for pushing ideas, some of which he agrees with and some he doesn’t, while pointing to his own proposals: banning officials from all three branches of government from holding office past age 75, banning social media for children under 16, and investing in energy infrastructure.
He credited former President Bill Clinton, former President Barack Obama and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi with leading the party the right way, noting that the last minimum wage increase happened while Pelosi held the gavel.
Winning red states, not just blue districts
Emanuel’s central argument was that Democrats win nationally by flipping red states and districts, not by making safe blue districts “midnight blue.” He cited former Nebraska Senator Ben Nelson as a decisive vote for the Affordable Care Act and its guarantee of coverage for people with preexisting conditions, and former West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin as key to passing the Inflation Reduction Act’s energy policy under President Biden.
“That didn’t happen from blue states,” Emanuel said. “That happened because we had a Democratic senator in a red state.”
He also noted that roughly 500,000 voters across seven states have determined the outcome of the last three presidential elections, arguing Democrats must win over independents in competitive areas rather than rely on party loyalists in deep-blue territory.
Asked in effect about his own political future, Emanuel signaled ambition beyond commentary. “If I decide to run, I’m not a peacetime consigliere. I’m a wartime general,” he said, pointing to his record on passing universal health coverage and pushing back against what he called “the failures of the establishment,” in both government and the private sector.
