Rahm Emanuel, Chicago politicos shoot down White House whispers

Comment(s)

Size: + / -

| Reprints

By Cheryl K. Chumley

The Washington Times

Friday, February 15, 2013

Enlarge Photo
** FILE ** Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel speaks Sept. 4, 2012, at ... more >

Story Topics

Follow Us On

Question of the Day

Sen. John Cornyn says it's "past time" for Attorney General Eric H. Holder to step down. Do you agree?

Chicago politicos are scrambling to quell reports of a Rahm Emanuel run for the White House, in the hours before President Obama is expected to visit the city to discuss his second-term agenda.

“He’s not running for president,” said Sarah Hamilton, a spokeswoman for Mr. Emanuel, in a Chicago Sun-Times report. And in May 2012, the newspaper continued, Mr. Emanuel said similarly, in a note to the Sun-Times City Hall reporter: “I, Rahm Emanuel, will not run for another office — EVER.”

The whispers of a White House run for the controversial mayor started in a Daily Beast report.

Well-connected Democrats said Mr. Emanuel was mulling a 2016 run for the presidency, but only if former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton decided not to seek the office, The Daily Beast reported on Thursday. Other Democrat strategists — James Carville and Paul Begala, both from the Clinton era — doubted the claims, in The Daily Beast report. But the rumors persist.

“I heard there were some conversations with donors, especially during the inauguration,” said one unnamed Democratic Party politico, in The Daily Beast.

About the Author

Cheryl K. Chumley

Cheryl Chumley is a continuous news writer for The Washington Times. Previously, she was part of the start-up team for The Washington Times’ digital aggregation product, Times247. She’s also a 2008-2009 Robert Novak journalism fellow with The Phillips Foundation. She can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.