Even though the midterms are right around the corner, eyes are shifting toward 2028. On the Democrat side of the aisle, Gavin Newsom, AOC, and Kamala Harris are all being floated as possible nominees. It's possible, however, that all of the big-name candidates end up not getting the nod and that the 2028 bench hasn't been completely filled out yet.
That's why these comments from Rahm Emanuel piqued our interest. They sure sound like the first baby steps into a 2028 run for the White House. He even mentions 2028 in this interview on MSNOW.
Emanuel pointed out that the top class for college freshmen is remedial reading. That's not really a surprise. In 47 of 50 states, literacy rates have declined. But Emanuel followed that up by saying we need to address education in America.
The #1 class for college freshman is remedial reading.
— Rahm Emanuel (@RahmEmanuel) August 31, 2026
That’s an indictment of what’s happening in this country on education.
We need to wake up to it, own it, and fix it. pic.twitter.com/wxQtoRTmK0
There are two states — red states — testing above pre-pandemic level: Mississippi and Louisiana. They're calling it the "Mississippi Miracle" because the state is now number one in improving reading and math scores.
"Louisiana, to their credit and this is, if I decide to run for president, it's not normal to go to Mississippi or Louisiana because we now know what to do to fix our kids' education," Emanuel said (emphasis added).
"We have to show the political will," he continued. "Louisiana is the only state out of 50 whose math and reading are above COVID, pre-COVID. They have figured it out and Mississippi did it in their marathon. They went from 49th to 9th on reading scores and lead the country now when you count demographics."
"Why? Much better. Much more disciplined, focused teacher training," he said. "Two, they have overseen the curriculum to ensure that the elementary years are back to the fundamentals. Three, they've instilled accountability and standards for the principals, the teachers, the parents, the school system, and the elected officials. Accountability throughout the system. And they've been at it, both of them, in a marathon. If you want a quick win, get out of education. This is a generational fight. But they have shown we can do this."
"Democrats have walked away from standards and accountability," Emanuel added. "Republicans have walked away from public schools and our children, 50 percent of them, cannot read at grade level. If we saw this in another country, we'd say that's a crisis and the political leaders from the president to the governors to the mayors have walked away and act like this is not our problem. As long as my kid can read, I don't really care."
"That's not why you're in public office and I'm going to go to Louisiana for two days, not just to highlight but to learn firsthand like I did in Mississippi, what it takes to turn the scourge that's happened for a generation that have allowed our kids ... the number one class in college today for freshmen is remedial reading. That's an indictment of what's happening in this country. And we need as adults to wake up to it," he said.
He's not wrong, but he's going to meet a lot of resistance from Democrats and the unions who think teaching reading and math is racist and instead spend their time lecturing about gender, Critical Race Theory, and "anti-Zionism."
Gee, Rahm…which administration f’ed up education in this country after they f’ed up Chicago public schools?
— FugitiveMama (@fugitivemama) September 1, 2026
Not hard to connect those dots.
What are you saying about schools? https://t.co/j1P2qM7adc
— Derrick Van Orden (@derrickvanorden) August 31, 2026
Our schools are a mess, and that's because Democrats and unions have driven them into the ground, by design. Republicans didn't walk away from public schools; they were pushed out.
Editor’s Note: The 2026 Midterms will determine the fate of President Trump’s America First agenda. Republicans must maintain control of both chambers of Congress.
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