Rahm Emanuel: GOP will lose today, but what Dems 'do in 2027 will determine whether we have won'

[0:00] On Election Day, as we wait to see whether Democrats will be able to flip the House, [0:04] we want to talk to someone who has been there and done that. 20 years ago, Rahm Emanuel was key [0:10] to the Democrats' successful campaign to regain control of the House in the 2006 midterm election. [0:16] The very same year, Democrats also secured a narrow majority in the Senate. Back then, [0:21] Rahm Emanuel was a congressman from Illinois. He went on to serve as President Obama's chief of [0:26] staff, mayor of Chicago, and ambassador to Japan. He has been busy, but he joins us now. Rahm, [0:31] I'm so glad you're here. Thank you. The last thing my friend Steve Leesman was talking about was the [0:36] CNBC polling that said the top issue for voters is corruption, and the number two is affordability. [0:42] Those are two sides of the same coin. 100% to say, and people talk about them as distinct, [0:47] like who's ranking. That's totally wrong. And the way I say it when I've been campaigning for [0:52] congressional candidates is the president of the United States gets a $450 million Air Force One [0:57] gift, and you get $4.50 a gallon of gas. He's talking about his arch, and your family can't [1:03] afford a meal at the Golden Arches. And you just drive the corruption, which the president of the [1:08] United States has put front and center into people's pocketbook. Do you think it's the corruption [1:14] is why we're actually seeing real breaks in the Republican Party, right? For the last 10 years, [1:19] we have talked about non-MAGA Republicans, but they haven't really stood up in force. [1:25] And suddenly, we're looking across this election cycle, and we actually have former real Republicans. [1:31] We've got the likes of David Jolly, Adam Hamilton, running as Democrats. [1:35] Look, non-MAGA Republicans don't want to be at all associated with what I call the country club set. [1:42] This is not who they are, which is why, A, the biggest story coming out of this election will be [1:46] non-MAGA Republicans who have abandoned the Republican Party because they think it's walked [1:50] away from them. And whether it's the candidates or the voters, every district that you're flipping [1:56] red to blue will be because 10 to 15 percent of the Republicans voted Democrat. And they've [2:00] already said that in the Washington Post poll. It's actually higher. So that's going to be the [2:04] biggest story. And they don't want to be associated with it. And I think there are, if I could, [2:08] three decisions that Robert Kortz makes that breaks up the 2024 Trump coalition because of what Trump [2:15] does. First, eviscerating the Voting Rights Act, and then with all the basically redistricting, [2:24] you have massive turnout across the South. Massive. Because this happened. Yes. The Voting Rights Act, [2:30] because they're threatened. Number two, telling the president that he was immune and he was above [2:35] the law, which is not how the Constitution reads. This president has put corruption front and center as [2:41] the brand of his administration. His greed, his grievance, and his grandeur. Third, giving license to [2:47] both ICE and as well as the Homeland Security and the way they've then deployed ICE, the Hispanic vote, [2:57] the black vote, and non-MAGA Republicans have all broken up. And that's going to be the breakup of the [3:02] MAGA Republican Party. And that's the biggest breakup that's going in. Now, the big mistake Democrats [3:10] have to be careful of. Republicans will lose on today. What we do in 2027 will determine whether we have won. [3:20] So what should you do? First, first three months, a major ethics bill. Ethics bill? Yeah. What will [3:28] that look like? Five quick things for all three branches, not one. Ban on all stock trading. Ban on [3:35] all participation in the prediction markets. Mandatory blind trust. Mandatory term limits. [3:41] And what I call the Kushner rule. No foreign money while you're in government and no foreign money for [3:45] two years out. You can't be taking money from the UAE, Qataris, and Saudis while you're actually a government [3:51] employee. OK, here's what's amazing about that. I would hold on one second. Wait, before you get to that, [3:55] because then we're going to lose it. I would argue that probably 90 percent of Americans, if not more, [4:01] would say, amen, hallelujah, let's do that. Trust me. I know. Yes. The fact that we don't have those [4:07] rules now is exactly why the American people don't trust Washington. Why aren't they already long? [4:13] Two things that Democrats have to do. One, change and reestablish trust. First, the last time there [4:18] was an ethics bill, I had introduced it with then Senator Obama when I was a congressman. We passed [4:24] it in 07 when we took the majority. It's 20 years later. Clean it up. Number two, 20 years ago, [4:30] last time we increased the minimum wage, raise it $20 by 2030. And then third, a vote on restricting [4:37] and pulling back on the tariffs. Every one of those will pass with massive, significant, [4:42] bipartisan majorities. And the president of the United States has to make a decision. [4:46] Sign it. And if he vetoes it, you have an election issue. If he signs it, you have a victory. And [4:52] that's where you put them, as I like to say, in that Yogi Bear position. When you get to the fork [4:57] in the road, take it. So everything that you're saying, those three verticals that you laid out [5:03] are perfect. I would do something else on health care, but yes, very quickly. But that's perfect [5:06] common sense to me. Yes. If that didn't happen. It comes late to Washington, but common sense does [5:11] arrive late. Okay. But that's my point. Why now? Like, like exactly the fact that we don't have [5:16] those things are why we don't trust Washington. Why there's this anti, besides an anti-Trump movement, [5:22] there's a huge anti-incumbent movement in this country. The Democrats have to understand this [5:27] is not an affirmation vote. You have to earn the trust of the voters by producing change. And you [5:32] have to both do it in substance and in speed. And this is a bigger piece that's lost in this whole [5:38] debate. Give it. The American people are massively frustrated with Washington. One of the, if I can [5:44] use focus groups of best lines for applause, then when I'm out there, the young men and women on the [5:52] Abraham Lincoln were at sea for 322 days without bathroom and with transit food. The U.S. Congress [6:00] was in for a hundred days. That's the only time they were, they worked for a hundred days and they get [6:06] apartment, they get housing assistance and food assistance, plus free healthcare. Those young men and [6:13] women. I've been on the Abraham Lincoln. It was based in Okinawa, Japan. 5,000 plus men and women [6:19] executing the national interest and the strategic. Those are patriots. They're out there, no bathrooms, [6:25] rancid food, 322 days. Congress is in for a hundred days. It was out more than it was in. [6:32] Get to work, roll up your sleeves, pass an ethics bill, pass a minimum wage, pass a healthcare bill that [6:38] gives people the coverage which is driving, which is the biggest affordability issue, and pull back on [6:42] these tariffs that are destroying both the economy in the United States and jacking up prices. Yeah. [6:48] And here's my standard. When you work like the kids on the Abraham Lincoln, you deserve, you earned [6:54] your supplements on food and housing for being in D.C. In 2023, the Congress gave themselves housing [7:00] assistance when they're in D.C. and food assistance. Put yourself in the place of those kids on the [7:06] Abraham Lincoln. You should see crowds. They go crazy. So that's what Washington, and if the Democrats get [7:13] this, earn the trust of the American people, deliver change. Not more yelling, not a Democratic version [7:18] of the Hunger Games of politics. Deliver change. Rahm Emanuel, thank you for joining me today. [7:24] I appreciate it. Hey, it's Rachel. I am so glad to see you at the end of that clip because this is [7:29] where I get to tell you about a new way to watch all our clips and all of our shows and everything [7:34] on MSNOW on your phone or your tablet or your laptop. You can watch things live or recorded. Plus, [7:40] you can ask me and all the other hosts and reporters questions in our weekly live chats. You can go to [7:46] ms.now slash membership or just click below. Thanks.