Rahm Emanuel, former White House chief of staff under Barack Obama, advised Democrats on Thursday to zero in on the 2026 midterm elections even as President Donald Trump acts as a “chaos machine” in his second term.
Emanuel — in a Washington Post op-ed shared on the day that the House passed Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” — wrote that the fight over the bill serves as Democrats’ “ripest opportunity” to help define what’s at stake in the midterms, adding that the party shouldn’t fall for Trump’s “distractions” in the meantime.
“That’s a trap,” Emanuel stressed.
“Incensed by each successive outrage, our ill-defined and unfocused reactions too often make us appear like defenders of the status quo. At heart, Americans really do want reform — but they also want protection against Trump’s chaos.”
He continued, “Once voters understand that congressional Republicans are a rubber stamp, they’ll be looking explicitly for a check on his chaotic corruption.”
