Rahm Emanuel posits that Americans currently face a stark “binary choice” between the calls to “defund the police” and President Donald Trump’s proposal to deploy the National Guard. In response, he’s stepping into the fray with a different vision.
The former mayor of Chicago is set to unveil his alternative approach to public safety at an event in Washington on Wednesday, where he will engage with police leaders. As Democrats strategize on how to address one of the Republicans’ foundational issues ahead of the 2022 midterm elections, Emanuel is advocating for a synthesis of community policing strategies and robust responses to serious crime, alongside intervention programs for youth. He asserts that this framework could serve as a blueprint for cities and Democratic candidates alike to counteract the prevailing narrative that they lack toughness on crime.
“Democrats a) should not shy away from this issue and b) need to proactively define their agenda,” Emanuel remarked in a recent interview, providing a preview of his forthcoming remarks.
With a political career spanning three presidential administrations and various governmental roles, Emanuel seeks to position himself as a key figure in the Democratic discourse surrounding public safety, while contemplating a potential presidential run in 2028. He clarified to POLITICO that he does not have a definitive timeline for his decision regarding a campaign.
Emanuel’s presentation will take place during the University of Chicago Crime Lab’s Policing Leadership Academy event, celebrating its graduates. His strategy emphasizes enhanced training in community policing, combined with a firm approach to serious crimes and gang activity, alongside youth engagement programs reminiscent of his initiatives during his tenure as mayor. He also advocates for stricter enforcement of existing gun laws and measures to bolster their effectiveness.
He succinctly encapsulated his public safety message with a mantra from his Chicago days: “More cops on the beat, getting kids, guns, and gangs off the street.”
During his mayoralty, Emanuel faced the daunting challenge of a sharp rise in homicides and shootings, culminating in Chicago’s most violent year in two decades in 2016. However, crime rates across several categories—murders, shootings, robberies, and burglaries—declined in the subsequent years, a trend the police department attributes to strengthened community partnerships and technological advancements. Emanuel also invested millions in youth mentoring and job programs aimed at keeping young people off the streets, initiatives that he continues to highlight with pride.
Yet, his administration was not without controversy; he faced intense backlash for his handling of the 2014 police shooting of a Black teenager, criticism that lingered as he initiated reforms in Chicago’s police department and continued his political journey. Emanuel garnered national attention for his confrontations with Trump over issues of crime and immigration during the former president’s initial term. If he decides to pursue the presidency in 2028, he will encounter fierce competition, particularly from Democratic governors like Illinois’ JB Pritzker, who are vocally opposing Trump’s National Guard interventions in urban areas.
Emanuel has articulated his opposition to Trump’s strategy of inundating Democratic strongholds with National Guard troops and federal immigration officers, a dual crackdown aimed at bolstering Republican positions in the midterms. Trump asserts that this approach has led to reduced crime. However, numerous states and cities have contested his Guard deployments, with Illinois and Chicago currently challenging the Trump administration in the Supreme Court.
When asked about the efficacy of Trump’s methods, Emanuel acknowledged a “thread of positive,” suggesting that concentrating forces in one area might allow local law enforcement to redirect their resources elsewhere. However, he firmly stated, “I’m not endorsing” the deployment of the National Guard. He criticized the idea of parachuting in 100 to 200 troops for a brief period, lacking any understanding of the community dynamics or policing. “The funds spent on the National Guard could be better utilized to train 500 local officers,” he emphasized.
As Trump seeks to capitalize on public safety concerns leading into the midterms, Emanuel insists that Democrats must become “comfortable” discussing crime. He highlights that internal party polling indicates a balanced strategy of critiquing Republicans while showcasing Democratic efforts to curb crime could attract undecided voters.
Emanuel cautioned against complacency, arguing that Democrats should not hide behind declining crime statistics that do not reflect voters’ perceptions. “No one should feel reassured by a statistic,” he commented.
Moreover, he has openly criticized the “defund” movement popularized among criminal justice reformers and progressives in 2020, a slogan that has since become a liability for the Democratic Party. The GOP successfully leveraged this framing against the party, forcing many Democrats to distance themselves from it, as seen with Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed purging his social media of any references to it, and New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani stepping back from his earlier support.
Despite this, Republicans continue to wield it as a political weapon, aiming to paint candidates as soft on crime. However, Emanuel contends that they will struggle to solidify this connection across the board, especially as candidates like Mamdani have distanced themselves from the slogan.
If Emanuel is to make a political resurgence, he will need to navigate the complexities of his history with public safety, including his role in the 1994 crime bill under President Clinton and the fallout from the Laquan McDonald case. He acknowledges his “responsibility” for his actions in that case and has cultivated a “very strong relationship” with McDonald’s great uncle, pastor Marvin Hunter, who supported Emanuel during his ambassadorship in Japan in the Biden administration. The two maintain regular communication.
In his 2021 Senate confirmation hearing, Emanuel recognized that he had underestimated the “distrust” of law enforcement among Black residents in Chicago and conceded that he had not done enough to rectify this issue. “The challenges were deeper and more entrenched than I had fully grasped. That’s on me,” Emanuel reflected. “However, I was committed to driving change.”
