Rahm Emanuel proposes betting and prediction markets tax, defends CPS reforms as he mulls presidential bid
Former Mayor Rahm Emanuel on Wednesday floated a 10% federal tax on online sports betting and prediction markets to boost revenue for science and technology — as he continues to explore a 2028 presidential bid while pressing Democrats to make big changes.
Emanuel spoke at a Wall Street Journal Live event in Washington about his plan that would help fund artificial intelligence, quantum computing, fusion energy, life sciences and national security technology. The goal would be to beat China in these fields — with an estimated annual revenue of $30 billion to $50 billion flowing into that fund.
The transaction tax would be placed on the amount wagered or traded on licensed online sportsbooks, digital casino platforms, prediction market apps and exchanges. Emanuel also supports banning all federal employees from prediction markets.
“We’re stagnant and worse than stagnant under President Trump. We’re cutting the NIH [National Institutes of Health] and the National Science Foundation," Emanuel said. "To me, raise a 10% fee. It goes into this Innovation Fund. I’m tired of people betting against America. I want to bet on America. I want to not reward gambling. I want to actually reward the entrepreneur.”
One of Emanuel’s key themes — on TV and podcast appearances and op-eds — is that Democrats can’t just focus on resisting President Donald Trump — they need a plan. Gov. JB Pritzker, another presidential hopeful, is echoing the same message. Last week, Pritzker told Rev. Al Sharpton that the next president needs an “Agenda 48” to counter Project 2025.
“We need to have an agenda and we need to make sure we pass it in a first year of a Democratic administration. And, it needs to be bold, and it needs to include the restoration of voting rights,” Pritzker said.
With several 2028 presidential hopefuls in elected office and able to show proof of their governing, Emanuel has been dropping policy plans, including a push for a mandatory retirement age of 75 for the president and across branches of the federal government.
Emanuel on Wednesday said Democrats need to find “common cause with independents” to build a coalition, and “we better have an agenda for America.”
The former mayor, ambassador to Japan, congressman and White House chief of staff, also voiced support for banning social media apps on phones for those under 16.
“I don’t want that algorithm raising an adolescent. Australia has done it. France is doing it. Germany’s on the way. Netherlands doing it. Italy’s looking at it. Spain’s already done it," Emanuel said. "And to me, it’s going to be a generational fight, but our kids are going to be better off.”
As state lawmakers explore a measure that would create environmental, energy and water regulations for data centers, Emanuel said he wants new data centers to be "self-sufficient on energy within the facility itself."
Emanuel has blamed Democrats for allowing the country's education system to falter, while instead focusing on race and gender-related issues. He's also concerned about children who fell behind during the pandemic.
"...We did the wrong things during COVID at schools. We don't want to talk about it. We want to look at our shoes and hope nobody notices that we were on the scene of the crime," Emanuel said. "And the fact is, we got to get out of this... If we don't shake up and start showing some nerve here, we are going to lose a generation."
Wall Street Journal Columnist Matthew Continetti brought up Emanuel's well-documented struggles with the Chicago Teachers Union as Emanuel pushed for a longer school day, closed 50 neighborhood schools and dealt with the first teachers union strike in 25 years.
"I didn't reference it. You did. But OK. I was trying to prevent the PTSD from kicking in," Emanuel said. "I'm about to take double doses when I'm done here."
Emanuel defended his time as mayor and said he didn't "try to take on the teachers union." He said the academic day and year at Chicago Public Schools was among the country's shortest when he came into office.
"And I once said to [former CTU President] Karen Lewis, 'What are we fighting about? I don't get this. Both of us want to break the cycle of poverty. Five hours and 15 minutes a day, it's not possible,' — and we also accomplished universal full-day kindergarten, which didn't exist in Chicago," Emanuel said. "As the one person in this room that went toe to toe, they were a challenge. You know what's a bigger challenge? Broken families and poverty. You give me an end to poverty and a family structure that supports a child. Don't worry about the teachers."
Despite the resistance he faced, Emanuel said he asked three mayors, "'Why don't you take over your public schools?'"
"And they looked at me and said, 'We watched what happened to you. Why would we want that?'" Emanuel said, adding that he "had to fight" when union members went to his children's schools and held signs that read, "Your dad's an a******" and "Your dad sucks."
"You have to be willing to do that [take on school reform]," Emanuel said. "And I mean, I'm just going to tell you it's going to take everything in you to do it."