Ex-Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel lands new gigs at ABC News, The Atlantic
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2018, he would not seek a third term in office at a press conference on the fifth floor at City Hall in Chicago. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune via AP)
Former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel landed a pair of media jobs -- at ABC News and The Atlantic -- now that he doesn't have a city to look after.
Emanuel, who drew national attention as a congressman, then as an adviser to former President Bill Clinton and White House chief of staff for former President Barack Obama -- left City Hall for the last time Friday afternoon, ending an eight-year tenure frequently marked by controversy. At the time it was unclear what Emanuel’s next step would be.
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But Emanuel has joined The Atlantic as contributing editor, penning his first piece on Tuesday morning.
The former mayor has also joined ABC News as a contributor. The network has made an attempt to beef up its political correspondents, also hiring the former New Jersey governor and Trump campaign adviser Chris Christie, Abby Huntsman and Meghan McCain in recent months.
Emanuel, who was known for being a flamboyant politician, started his mayoral career fighting with a teachers union, then sparred with President Trump, defending Chicago as a sanctuary city. He also took heat for allegedly covering up a video of a police officer's 2014 fatal shooting of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald, The Chicago Sun-Times reported. McDonald was shot 16 times. The officer, Jason Van Dyke, was convicted of second-degree murder.
The shooting happened at a critical point in Emanuel’s re-election campaign in 2015, and he didn’t release the video until after he won, and even then only under a judicial order. The city settled with McDonald’s family for $5 million.
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In an interview with WLS, Emanuel explained he didn’t want to run for a third term because he was “dead tired.”
“Being mayor is not a part-time job," he said. "There is no Fourth of July holiday. I knew I didn't have four years in the gas tank.”
Fox News’ Brie Stimson contributed to this report.