Rahm Emanuel: “Nobody Believes Our President” on Iran | Pivot

1. 0:00 – 10:53

   Intro

   1. RERahm Emanuel0:00

      I would like to say you have dropped the F-bomb three times and I'm at zero.

   2. KSKara Swisher0:03

      I'm sor- I know.

   3. RERahm Emanuel0:04

      Just for the record.

   4. KSKara Swisher0:04

      I know, I know. I know. You can do it any time.

   5. RERahm Emanuel0:06

      Okay. I'm zero.

   6. KSKara Swisher0:09

      [upbeat music] Hi, everyone, this is Pivot from New York Magazine and the Vox Media Podcast Network. I'm Kara Swisher. Scott is off still. I don't know where Scott is. He's just off rambling around. Actually, I'm gonna see him tonight at the premiere of my, uh, new series for CNN. Uh, but I brought on another incredible co-host. He's been ambassador to Japan and the mayor of Chicago.

   7. RERahm Emanuel0:34

      [chuckles]

   8. KSKara Swisher0:34

      It seems like he's running for president. It's Rahm Emanuel.

   9. RERahm Emanuel0:37

      Mm-hmm.

   10. KSKara Swisher0:37

       Hey, Rahm. How you doing?

   11. RERahm Emanuel0:38

       I'm good. How are you?

   12. KSKara Swisher0:40

       Good, good. You have been everywhere. What, what's happening?

   13. RERahm Emanuel0:43

       [laughs]

   14. KSKara Swisher0:43

       Try to tell us what's happening, besides lecturing the Democratic Party, which we'll get to in a minute. But what, what-

   15. RERahm Emanuel0:48

       Yeah

   16. KSKara Swisher0:49

       ... what are, what are you doing?

   17. RERahm Emanuel0:50

       Well, I'm, first of all, I'm listening to the American people. I've been out and, uh, talking to them about things like how to make sure they get ahead, their families get ahead on the community college plan. Uh, but also, you know, like a young man I met in Spartanburg who's going to community college, he's got a job waiting at GE for 33 an hour with benefits, and he was unemployed. And what they're doing at that community college is exactly what I wanna see us do everywhere, something similar to what we did in Chicago, something similar to La Crosse. But also, you know, listening to the nurse in Iowa who's talking about that she now spends close to 50% of her time arguing with insurance companies. So, and about how to make sure that people get the healthcare that they're actually, her and the doctor are prescribing.

   18. KSKara Swisher1:30

       Mm-hmm. You've been a public figure, but often in the, in the, in the national way, you've been a sort of behind the s- and you've been a congressperson, but h-how do you-- how is it different what you're doing here in terms of running for president? Or trying or thinking-

   19. RERahm Emanuel1:43

       Well, I mean, I ha-

   20. KSKara Swisher1:43

       ... about running for president.

   21. RERahm Emanuel1:44

       Yeah, I mean, that's fair. Look, I mean, I've been a congressman, I've been a mayor of a-

   22. KSKara Swisher1:47

       Mm-hmm

   23. RERahm Emanuel1:48

       ... not insignificant city.

   24. KSKara Swisher1:49

       So front-facing.

   25. RERahm Emanuel1:50

       Okay.

   26. KSKara Swisher1:50

       Yeah, front-facing.

   27. RERahm Emanuel1:50

       Yeah. Uh, also chairman of, uh, a leadership in Congress. But that said, I mean, you're evaluating, uh, uh, and one of the things I know about running for office, uh, is you gotta make sure your head, your heart, and your gut are all aligned.

   28. KSKara Swisher2:05

       Mm-hmm.

   29. RERahm Emanuel2:05

       Uh, I lo- I, I'm gonna just say it up fro- I don't need a title. I got more titles, I can auction 'em off. I'm also-- I'm about getting stuff done. Like take something I'm very proud about, you know this because from our many conversations. We raised our graduation rate from 56 to 83%. 98% of our kids had a plan post high school, college, community college, branch of the armed forces, vocational school. I'm not, I'm about getting stuff done, not about getting another title. And do I think I actually understand what it takes to move this country and mo- help the American people get ahead and their kids get ahead? And do I have the fortitude to do that? And so that's what, what I'm looking at. I'm not ti- I don't need, as I said, titles is for other people. Getting crap done is what we did in Chicago. 20,000 kids went to community college for free. Every child had a plan post high school on education. We started pre-K in kindergarten. So I'm into moving stuff and as I like, we like to say in Chicago, taking the garbage out, getting stuff done. And-

   30. KSKara Swisher3:08

       So what, what, what's the-
2. 10:53 – 29:19

   Trump’s Iran Threat

   1. KSKara Swisher10:53

      This is an important thing for the future. The Iran war ceasefire is looking a little shaky. There's confusion around the status of the Strait of Hormuz and the disagreement over whether the truce includes Lebanon, uh, uh, the truce includes Lebanon. Trump announced a two-week ceasefire on Tuesday night. Two weeks is always his magic number. He backed down from his threat of a whole, the whole civilization would die if the deal wasn't released, um, reached. Jimmy Kimmel called it the Taco Tuesday of all Taco Tuesday. Um, and then, of course, you know, it's, um, uh, you know, walk-back Wednesday, essentially. Uh, Megyn Kelly, I'm gonna play her. I don't usually do it 'cause she gives me a headache. Wasn't too happy either. Um, but, uh, uh, listen to this. Listen to this. Let's play it.

   2. SPSpeaker11:34

      I don't know about you, but I am sick of this shit. I'm just f-- I'm f-- s- I'm sick of it. Can't he just behave like a normal human? I mean, honestly, like the president, I-- Three eighty, she has... Sh-sh-shut up. Fucking shut up about that shit. You don't threaten to wipe out an entire civilization. We're talking about civilians just casually in a social media post

   3. KSKara Swisher12:02

      I don't often agree with Megan, but there you go.

   4. RERahm Emanuel12:05

      Yeah.

   5. KSKara Swisher12:05

      I think she's sort of articulating what's happening on the right.

   6. RERahm Emanuel12:07

      Think of that. Donald Trump's bringing people together rather than dividing them.

   7. KSKara Swisher12:10

      [laughs] He's taking-

   8. RERahm Emanuel12:10

      You like Megyn Kelly. Think of the upside of this.

   9. KSKara Swisher12:12

      I guess.

   10. RERahm Emanuel12:12

       A new, a new level of a-

   11. KSKara Swisher12:14

       Suddenly I'm shaking my-

   12. RERahm Emanuel12:14

       ... a new level of human-

   13. KSKara Swisher12:15

       Yeah

   14. RERahm Emanuel12:15

       ... humanity in you that's been found towards people you disagree with.

   15. KSKara Swisher12:18

       I feel it's not humanity. It's like, are you-

   16. RERahm Emanuel12:20

       [laughs]

   17. KSKara Swisher12:20

       ... I fucking agree with her. And I, I, I find common cause with Marjorie Taylor Greene, right? Until I start-

   18. RERahm Emanuel12:25

       Mm

   19. KSKara Swisher12:25

       ... talking about some other topics. But Pope Leo is also weighing in, calling the threat against Iranian people truly unacceptable. He's in a, he's-- For some reason, Trump's gotten in a beef with the Pope, which is terrible. In terms of what happens next, Vice President JD Vance is traveling to Pakistan to, for peace talks this weekend, along with Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, uh, Dumb and Dumber. Trump says that all US military personnel and assets will stay near Iran until real agreement is reached. Talk a little bit about this. You've been in these rooms. Like, what is ha- It seems like he's not playing chess, he's eating the pieces, like, or, or something, or maybe he's not getting good advice or else he's cognitively has some problems.

   20. RERahm Emanuel13:02

       Yeah. I don't wanna, I don't wanna just say about the room, but-

   21. KSKara Swisher13:05

       Mm-hmm

   22. RERahm Emanuel13:06

       ... it's clear there isn't a situation room.

   23. KSKara Swisher13:08

       Mm-hmm.

   24. RERahm Emanuel13:08

       They've moved it into the Oval Office, and whoever walks in wa- there's a couple doors. There's four doors there. So there's one outside-

   25. KSKara Swisher13:15

       Mm-hmm

   26. RERahm Emanuel13:15

       ... there's one to the, uh, you know, where the assistants li- s-uh, sit. There's one to the, goes to the Roosevelt Room, and there's one that also goes to the, uh, first president's library. I-- They've moved it all in there.

   27. KSKara Swisher13:27

       Mm-hmm.

   28. RERahm Emanuel13:27

       There's not a serious analysis. Uh, think about this. You have Vice President Vance is going there. You have Witkoff and Wi- uh, and Jared Kushner with no diplomatic, uh, support. Go back to when they were meeting, uh, in Geneva. There was no experts around the nuclear capacity or everything.

   29. KSKara Swisher13:45

       Mm-hmm.

   30. RERahm Emanuel13:45

       Witkoff and Kushner were winging it, and it clearly showed because the UK intel officer who was pr- there said Iran was actually offering us something very serious in the sense of concessions to avoid the military confrontation, and neither Kushner or Witkoff-
3. 29:19 – 40:01

   Democratic Wins

   1. KSKara Swisher29:19

      Rahm, we're back. Democrats notched their biggest shift yet in the House special election, dramatically narrowing the gap in Georgia's 14th. Trump carried the district by thirty-seven points in twenty twenty-four, but even in the race, the margin shrank to around twelve points, a major swing even though the Republicans took the win. Democrats also expanded their majority on Wisconsin's Supreme Court, very significant, from four to three to five to two, and that'll last for, for a decade, I think, for something like that, or a very long time. You recently wrote a piece in The Wall Street Journal titled "How Democrats Can Use Their Coming Majority." You say investigations of Trump won't satisfy voters, and that energy would be better spent on a positive agenda. You and I have talked about this. Talk about, you know, your ideal plan. You just sort of vaguely mentioned it. Uh, up to the midterms, and assuming they have a strong showing-

   2. RERahm Emanuel30:01

      Mm

   3. KSKara Swisher30:01

      ...without any, um, nonsense from Trump or any hijinks or whatever he's trying-

   4. RERahm Emanuel30:06

      Yeah

   5. KSKara Swisher30:06

      ...to do, but it's, doesn't seem like it's gonna work. Um, in recent days, over seventy lawmakers have said Trump's cabinet needs to invoke the twenty-fifth Amendment. Um-

   6. RERahm Emanuel30:14

      Hmm

   7. KSKara Swisher30:14

      ...uh, that's, he's supposed to be in a coma, apparently, for that, but we'll, we'll see. Um, I don't, I don't see them doing that. They can hardly speak up in any way. Talk about or the distraction of it, 'cause one of the things is if you spend all your time investigating, and certain people, by the way, should be investigated-

   8. RERahm Emanuel30:30

      Right

   9. KSKara Swisher30:30

      ...for corruption.

   10. RERahm Emanuel30:30

       No, let me, let me be really clear-

   11. KSKara Swisher30:32

       Christine Noem-

   12. RERahm Emanuel30:32

       ...as I said in that piece

   13. KSKara Swisher30:32

       ...Corey Lewandowski-

   14. RERahm Emanuel30:33

       Right

   15. KSKara Swisher30:33

       ...et cetera. Yeah.

   16. RERahm Emanuel30:35

       As I said in that piece, I said there's a difference between corruption and dishonesty. I'm for absolute investigation of all the corruption. This is crony capitalism run amokPeople trading on inside information, they have normalized corruption, 100% for that. I-- The cro- you cross the line when it's all about retribution, vindication, and not addressing what I think is not only the affirmative agenda, but I do believe the- their corruption. I've said it two years ago. That's the backdrop. So I'm 100% for what did Kristi Noem do at DHS? I'm 100% for everything the inspector generals have reported-

   17. KSKara Swisher31:17

       Mm-hmm

   18. RERahm Emanuel31:17

       ... and all the type of corruption, both inside, outside, members of family.

   19. KSKara Swisher31:20

       Or the Trump kids-

   20. RERahm Emanuel31:22

       Witkoff

   21. KSKara Swisher31:22

       ... except Witkoff's kids.

   22. RERahm Emanuel31:22

       Lot making the Trump-- 100% for that.

   23. KSKara Swisher31:24

       Mm-hmm.

   24. RERahm Emanuel31:24

       Don't get caught in a game of politics or retribution where then the people go, "Ah, it's just more Washington."

   25. KSKara Swisher31:30

       Right.

   26. RERahm Emanuel31:30

       Now, on the affirma- I think on the affirmative, and this was part of that piece, if you go back to the presidentials of both President Clinton and President Obama first terms, '08 and 1992, what George Mitchell does in 1990 forcing President Bush to raise taxes and break his pledge on Read My Lips, and what we've did in forcing Bush to veto the Children's Health Insurance Initiative in 2007 sets up 1992 Bill Clinton and sets up President Obama nine- 2008. 2027, I look at the, uh, kinda landscape of all the issues from minimum wage to predictive markets to healthcare cost control and/or a Ratepayer's Bill of Rights. I lay out a number of piece- ideas in that piece. You-- Now, a part of this politically is determinin' you have the Senate or not, is get a bill on the desk that, one, creates divisions within the Republican Party, and two, either force the president, like Bush does in 1990, who signs a bill, or vetoes a bill, like President Bush does in 2007 on Children's Health Insurance program, that creates divisions inside the Republican Party and advance your agenda that you're ready to take and secure the future. So I do think Democrat-- Let's just, just fast-forward, Democrats win both the House and the Senate. What they do in 2027 will be as determinative as who we nominate in 2028. My view, this is mine, is go to those predictive markets and put a piece of legislation on the president's desk that ban all members, Congress, Senate, executive branch, judicial branch, staff, family, from participating in the predictive markets.

   27. KSKara Swisher33:31

       Mm-hmm.

   28. RERahm Emanuel33:31

       And that there's a division of the criminal justice department-

   29. KSKara Swisher33:33

       The Kalches and Polly markets, right. Yeah.

   30. RERahm Emanuel33:35

       Yeah. And the reason is... And first of all, all that can be done by executive order.
4. 40:01 – 47:04

   California Primary Chaos

   1. KSKara Swisher40:01

      this week by endorsing former Fox News host Steve Hilton, who I know very well, actually.

   2. RERahm Emanuel40:05

      [laughs]

   3. KSKara Swisher40:05

      Uh, mostly as a husband of someone I know very well, but I actually know Steve. My favorite Steve thing is he was lecturing me on populism and the elites when he was staying at the Bel-Air Hotel. [chuckles] And I was like, "I can't afford this fucking place, my friend."

   4. RERahm Emanuel40:17

      [laughs]

   5. KSKara Swisher40:18

      "Like, and you're telling me about, like, elites?" Um, anyway, I-- he's a funny guy, actually. There might be, um, good news for Democrats, the, the, the Trump, uh, backing there. But Democrats have been worrying about a doomsday scenario with the state's jungle primary. And people don't know, there, it-it's, it, there's, there's not primaries. It's who the top two are. If the two GOP candidates, Hilton and Sheriff, uh, Chad Bianco, and, uh, ex-exactly what he sounds like, um, first and second in the primary, Democrats would be locked out in the general election. It's a concern, and there's eight Democrats in the race with no clear frontrunner. Um, but by consolidating GOP su-support behind Hilton, Trump may have helped reduce the chances. And I've noticed both Jane Fonda and Ro Khanna are backing the billionaire, which is unusual, Tom Steyer.

   6. RERahm Emanuel41:02

      [laughs]

   7. KSKara Swisher41:03

      Um, uh, which is fine. Like, all the left went crazy, but I'm like, "Well, he's, he's a, he's different." He's a, he's not, like... He, there's, he's not Mark Zuckerberg, let me just be clear.

   8. RERahm Emanuel41:12

      Hmm.

   9. KSKara Swisher41:12

      But, um, that said, there's all kinds of, you know, issues there, um, um, with, with what's happening there. And you've got, you know, a number of candidates that each have a little chunk. It's not like one has the biggest chunk. So I'm sitting there, I'm like, "Where's Nancy Pelosi hitting heads?" Or, "Where's Newsom?" Or, "What's, what is happening there?" And you've-- I'm sure you've spoken to them. If you're running the Democratic Party and tell-

   10. RERahm Emanuel41:34

       What, what do you mean? What's happening in the Democratic Party leadership?

   11. KSKara Swisher41:36

       It... Yes. What, what has to happen there in order to, like, knock people out? They don't seem to be leaving, any of them, it looks like.

   12. RERahm Emanuel41:43

       Yeah, I don't, I... Well, the, you know, California's not Chicago. [chuckles]

   13. KSKara Swisher41:48

       Right. Right. You can't knock heads.

   14. RERahm Emanuel41:49

       We would find something wrong with their signatures and knock them out that way. [chuckles]

   15. KSKara Swisher41:52

       Right. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

   16. RERahm Emanuel41:53

       You know, you know, you're not getting on the ballot on this one. You want another race?

   17. KSKara Swisher41:56

       Yeah.

   18. RERahm Emanuel41:56

       That's it. But, you know.

   19. KSKara Swisher41:57

       Mm-hmm.

   20. RERahm Emanuel41:58

       Uh, I don't, you know, I have no idea what... I think the leadership of the party has stood back. I, part of me wonders whether Kamala Harris thinks again, like, "Maybe I made a mistake. I should've gone for that office," et cetera, given when you look at the field. I think this is a jump ball. You gotta, uh, I look at it from a distance, but about four candidates all kind of hovering within two points from each other. And so my guess is the leadership of the party doesn't wanna put their thumb on the scale, prefer looking like they don't have the leadership that they thought they did.

   21. KSKara Swisher42:29

       Mm-hmm. So what happens?

   22. RERahm Emanuel42:31

       But I don't know.

   23. KSKara Swisher42:31

       It could be... Is that a bad thing for the n- for the-

   24. RERahm Emanuel42:35

       I, you know, I, I, uh, I, I do buy the conventional wisdom-

   25. KSKara Swisher42:39

       Mm-hmm

   26. RERahm Emanuel42:39

       ... that the president's endorsement of, uh, Hil- Mr. Hilton-

   27. KSKara Swisher42:44

       Hil-

   28. RERahm Emanuel42:44

       ... is a kiss of death.

   29. KSKara Swisher42:46

       Mm-hmm.

   30. RERahm Emanuel42:46

       And I think that will, uh, bear out. Uh, and I-- what happensEventually, there's a coal-coalescing. That trigger hasn't happened yet, but I instinctually believe it will happen. Well, how the papers endorse what-- Something will happen that will tri-- that will be a conversion, that will convert the moment. It'll be a catalytic conversion of the moment, and then there'll be a coalescing around a singular or two candidates that catapult to the front of the class.
5. 47:04 – 55:42

   Musk vs. Altman

   1. KSKara Swisher47:04

      have OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and President Greg Brockman removed from the company as part of a case claiming the company deceived him to donating thirty-eight million dollars. I was there when that happened, actually. Meanwhile, OpenAI sent a letter to the California and Delaware AGs alleging Musk has been working to undermine OpenAI through various attacks, including by working with Mark Zuckerberg. I mean, [chuckles] this is true. Um, surge, j-jury selection begins in this high-profile trial where the tech is sort of eating each other, like it's a really interesting time. And while we're talking about AI, hopefulness among AI among young people has dropped to eighteen percent from twenty-seven percent last year. You're welcome, every, uh, tech. I'm, I'm glad to help it do that. Almost a third of young adults, uh, say AI made them feel angry. Um, and speaking of Elon, shortly after he filed his SpaceX IPO last week, speculation is growing about a merger with Tesla. Um, I've been saying this would happen. Let's listen to a clip from last April. It looks like he's not interested in making cars anymore, or, or he's making other things. He wants to shift Tesla. And I, I think you're gonna merge xAI, X, and this together in a big unholy alliance.

   2. RERahm Emanuel48:07

      And Tesla?

   3. KSKara Swisher48:08

      Yeah. Mm-hmm. Yeah, I had already predicted that he would put Twitter into Grok, and then they would put it into SpaceX, and, uh, it made sense for a lot of things.

   4. RERahm Emanuel48:16

      Right.

   5. KSKara Swisher48:16

      Um, so obviously-

   6. RERahm Emanuel48:17

      There's a whole new meaning of roll-up. [chuckles]

   7. KSKara Swisher48:19

      Yeah, and actually there, there, there's a r- story in Reuters they're gonna possibly make a cheaper EV, which he should have done four years ago, but that's another issue. Talk a little bit ab-- He-- That's the only answer for Tesla, given how the numbers are declining. He has to either have a great car, or he has, which he's not seemingly interested in, a really great car that sort of wins everything, or he has to merge them all together, and then he can hide the losses pretty easily in this spectacular IPO that's gonna happen with SpaceX. Um, so which is hugely overvalued, but that's all right. People are gonna buy into it. So talk a little bit about what's happening here in AI, because there's a whole shift of people not trusting these people. You know-

   8. RERahm Emanuel48:55

      Mm-hmm

   9. KSKara Swisher48:55

      ... it's sort of like a pox on all their houses. W-which side do you wanna pick, Altman or Musk or these people-

   10. RERahm Emanuel49:02

       Well, l-

   11. KSKara Swisher49:02

       ... or David Sacks, who's, like, pushing the president even as the numbers are declining?

   12. RERahm Emanuel49:08

       I think there's three categories that I kinda take back from this week. One is the tech bros all basically urinating on each other's leg, but telling you, the other guy, it's raining outside.

   13. KSKara Swisher49:20

       [chuckles]

   14. RERahm Emanuel49:21

       And Americans aren't gonna stand for sit on the sidelines, literally-

   15. KSKara Swisher49:24

       Mm-hmm

   16. RERahm Emanuel49:24

       ... while Altman and Dario and Elon Musk all play and fight with each other like little kids in a sandbox-

   17. KSKara Swisher49:32

       Mm-hmm

   18. RERahm Emanuel49:32

       ... without adult supervision.

   19. KSKara Swisher49:33

       Mm-hmm.

   20. RERahm Emanuel49:34

       The second is both OpenAI and Anthropic withhold product because it's too risky-

   21. KSKara Swisher49:42

       Dangerous

   22. RERahm Emanuel49:43

       ... to the general market.

   23. KSKara Swisher49:43

       Right. I was gonna mention that too.

   24. RERahm Emanuel49:44

       And then, okay-

   25. KSKara Swisher49:44

       These are, these are new products-

   26. RERahm Emanuel49:46

       And then the third-

   27. KSKara Swisher49:46

       ... that they have coming-

   28. RERahm Emanuel49:47

       Um

   29. KSKara Swisher49:47

       ... that they're worried about security issues, and now they've brought a coalition together to try to patch things, but quite dangerous. But go ahead.

   30. RERahm Emanuel49:54

       And then the third thing, which is whether... Forget the motivation for a second. Sam Altman puts, uh, out a kind of updated AI New Deal social contract to compete in my... But again, I shouldn't do that because I said don't put aside the motivation. With Dario Ohm's view, which is, this is gonna be so disruptive we have to figure out not only how the product and the c- and the industry, but also how we include the American people in this, so it's a net win rather than three guys winning, three hundred and thirty-three million lose. Those three boxes are-- they're all overlapping. Now, I step back also as a former mayor and chief of staff to a president in massive changing times. The government is set up to kinda set up a regulation, wait 30 years to see if it worked, which is an industrial model, and you're good. You're in the p- post analog, post digital, into something totally different. And I do think when you look at Dario and, and OpenAI deciding not to put a product out, forget the boys acting like boys. They're c-- They are begging for oversight and rules, and they're making it up as they go. The government needs le- industry leaders, academics [clears throat] economists in real time to be making decisions in a real way. We can't rely on two CEOs' social conscience to say, "I'm withholding a product because it's dangerous." While I appreciate that they did that, that is not how this is gonna work. So we're gonna have to have a, a board that is required to update its rules and regs and oversight in real time with an industry that's changing at a pace the government's not used to. There's gonna have to be principles that guide it. Now, is the threat from China real?
6. 55:42 – 1:00:08

   RFK Jr. Podcast

   1. KSKara Swisher55:42

      I regret to inform [laughs] you that RFK Jr. is launching a podcast. You know it's trouble now. The pod will focus on telling the truth, especially when it's uncomfortable in confronting the spiritual malaise. Let's watch a clip of the announcement, I guess. It's not quite as bad as his, his, his strange porn movie with Kid Rock, but let's go.

   2. RERahm Emanuel55:59

      [laughs]

   3. SPSpeaker56:00

      [gentle music] If we want a healthy nation, we have to confront the lies that have made us spiritually, morally, and physically sick. The time for half measures is now over. We're launching a new era of radical transparency in government here at HHS. I hope you'll join us in our mission to make America healthy again.

   4. KSKara Swisher56:18

      Oh my goodness, and of course, just as there is news in The Washington Post that they're trying to suppress a CDC report that vaccines are good for you, s- uh, COVID vaccines, so just [laughs] transparent-

   5. RERahm Emanuel56:28

      It gives a whole new mean-

   6. KSKara Swisher56:29

      Bobby

   7. RERahm Emanuel56:29

      ... yeah, yeah, I was gonna say, it gives a whole new meaning to what transparency is not.

   8. KSKara Swisher56:33

      Yeah. So is he just preparing for his next career when he gets bounced, or what's, what is happening? And I hope... Are you co-hosting-

   9. RERahm Emanuel56:39

      That, that-

   10. KSKara Swisher56:39

       ... his podcast next?

   11. RERahm Emanuel56:39

       Well, first of all, two things. One is he's preparing that, but it's also to, uh, airbrush his past.

   12. KSKara Swisher56:44

       Yeah.

   13. RERahm Emanuel56:44

       He has been an absolute horrible Secretary of Health and Human Services-

   14. KSKara Swisher56:49

       Mm-hmm

   15. RERahm Emanuel56:49

       ... on every measure, outside of what's happened with opiates, and he has nothing to do with it.

   16. KSKara Swisher56:55

       Yeah.

   17. RERahm Emanuel56:55

       The United States is less-

   18. KSKara Swisher56:55

       Best friend to measles is what I call him. Best friend to measles.

   19. RERahm Emanuel56:57

       [coughs] Yes. Measles, the lack of confidence in the American CDC, our other types of our life sciences and our capacities, our healthcare costs, everything that he has touched, touched in the great tradition of this administration is broken. It needed repair, it needed to be strengthened, and across the board, you cannot walk from a single agency or department, and he's been the kind of a point of the spear. It's the largest domestic agency in the United States, Health and Human Services, and he has made a mess of it, and the people he's appointed have made a mess of it, from CDC to NIH to w- Medicare, Medicaid.

   20. KSKara Swisher57:36

       Yeah.

   21. RERahm Emanuel57:36

       And they have done nothing to measurably improve the health of the American people.

   22. KSKara Swisher57:41

       Mm-hmm.

   23. RERahm Emanuel57:42

       And I will say, having dealt with this as both chief of staff, but more importantly, when I helped pass the ACA or President Clinton's Children's Health Insurance, but as mayor of the City of Chicago, 8% of our workforce was driving 70% of our healthcare costs around chronic illnesses, heart, obesity, et cetera. He could have focused on something that actually moved the needle in both dropping healthcare costs and improving-

   24. KSKara Swisher58:09

       Yep

   25. RERahm Emanuel58:09

       ... public health.

   26. KSKara Swisher58:10

       Yep. Yep.

   27. RERahm Emanuel58:11

       And rather than bring the country together, like everything in this administration, never lose an opportunity to divide Americans.

   28. KSKara Swisher58:17

       Mm-hmm.

   29. RERahm Emanuel58:18

       They have, they have, from the president to his cabinet, have found m-multiple opportunities-

   30. KSKara Swisher58:23

       Mm-hmm
7. 1:00:08 – 1:04:53

   Predictions

   1. KSKara Swisher1:00:08

      so many things. Keep it brief. We got a, just a little time. I wanna play one thing at the end from NASA, um, from the Artemis, but what is your prediction?

   2. RERahm Emanuel1:00:16

      Prediction?

   3. KSKara Swisher1:00:17

      Mm-hmm.

   4. RERahm Emanuel1:00:17

      That nobody will be held accountable for playing the games in the prediction market with inside information.

   5. KSKara Swisher1:00:21

      Oh, okay. Nobody.

   6. RERahm Emanuel1:00:22

      The CFTC, the SEC, the Justice Department not only are asleep, they're in on the scam.

   7. KSKara Swisher1:00:28

      Mm-hmm. Nobody for now.

   8. RERahm Emanuel1:00:32

      Nobody for now under this-

   9. KSKara Swisher1:00:34

      In the future

   10. RERahm Emanuel1:00:34

       ... administration until they're held accountable.

   11. KSKara Swisher1:00:36

       And-

   12. RERahm Emanuel1:00:36

       Can I do one thing personal?

   13. KSKara Swisher1:00:37

       Sure. Please, absolutely.

   14. RERahm Emanuel1:00:39

       All right. My son runs a two-hour, 39-minute marathon. He did it in Boston.

   15. KSKara Swisher1:00:44

       Wow. Amazing.

   16. RERahm Emanuel1:00:45

       He's gonna run the Boston Marathon again. I think he'll have a personal best.

   17. KSKara Swisher1:00:48

       Oh, wow.

   18. RERahm Emanuel1:00:48

       He ran a two hour, 39, uh-

   19. KSKara Swisher1:00:50

       Mm-hmm

   20. RERahm Emanuel1:00:50

       ... which is incredible-

   21. KSKara Swisher1:00:51

       Mm-hmm

   22. RERahm Emanuel1:00:51

       ... in, uh-

   23. KSKara Swisher1:00:52

       It is

   24. RERahm Emanuel1:00:53

       ... mara- uh, marathon. I think, I think this coming, uh, Boston Marathon, he's running again.

   25. KSKara Swisher1:00:57

       Mm-hmm.

   26. RERahm Emanuel1:00:57

       He's gonna get a personal best.

   27. KSKara Swisher1:00:59

       Oh, that's very sweet, Dad.

   28. RERahm Emanuel1:01:00

       That's both a prediction-

   29. KSKara Swisher1:01:01

       All right

   30. RERahm Emanuel1:01:01

       ... a hope, and a wish, and I'm very proud of him.

Episode duration: 1:04:55