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Emanuel pushes back on ‘straight White man’ question, says ideas matter most in 2028

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Emanuel pushes back on ‘straight White man’ question, says ideas matter most in 2028

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MANCHESTER, N.H. — Rahm Emanuel is shrugging off the Democratic Party’s identity debate and emphasizing that the showdown for the Democrats’ 2028 presidential nomination should be about ideas and not gender.

The former Chicago mayor and White House chief of staff to President Barack Obama is mulling a White House run of his own in 2028 in the race to succeed term-limited Republican President Donald Trump. But in a party that has made diversity one of its core tenets, Emanuel will have to face the question: will the Democratic Party elect a straight White male to represent it?

Emanuel told Fox News Digital on Monday that Democrats should be asking potential presidential contenders different questions entirely, such as: “Do you have the ideas of how to make sure the American Dream is alive and well, accessible and affordable to another generation?”

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Former First Lady Michelle Obama lamented in a podcast late last year that the U.S. is not ready for a female president. (Tasos Katopodis/Getty)

In the wake of former Vice President Kamala Harris’ defeat to Trump in the 2024 election, former First Lady Michelle Obama made headlines late last year when she emphasized in a conversation posted on YouTube that the U.S. has “a lot of growing up to do” and that the nation is “not ready for a woman” as president.

And former President Joe Biden, in an interview last year on “The View,” argued that Harris lost to Trump because of sexism and racism.

Harris was the second female Democratic presidential nominee to come up short to Trump, following Hillary Clinton’s defeat in the 2016 election.

That’s got some in the Democratic Party suggesting that in order to recapture the White House in 2028, it might be better for the party to nominate a White male as their standard-bearer.

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WHITE HOUSE RACE UNDERWAY: WITH 2026 LOOMING, BOTH PARTIES ARE ALREADY PLAYING FOR 2028

While Democrats take pride in their party’s diversity, an Axios article this past weekend, headlined “Some Dems’ 2028 strategy: a straight, White, Christian man,” included quotes from party operatives and strategists suggesting that parts of the American electorate are too biased to back a female or other diverse presidential candidate.

Emanuel disagrees.

“More important is the voters’ take. They’ll make a decision. And so to me, that’s the wrong thing. The question is, do you have the ideas that address the challenges that are facing America, regardless of who’s speaking it,” he said.

Former U.S. ambassador Rahm Emanuel, a former Chicago mayor who previous served as White House chief of staff in then-President Barack Obama’s administration and a former U.S. House member, speaks at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics, on March 30, 2026, in Manchester, N.H.  (Paul Steinhauser/Fox News )

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Emanuel spoke with Fox News and other news organizations after headlining “Politics and Eggs,” a speaking series at Saint Anselm College’s New Hampshire Institute of Politics that’s a must stop for White House hopefuls visiting the which for a century has held the first presidential primary in the White House race. And hours earlier, on Sunday evening, he was the main attraction at the latest “Stand Up New Hampshire” town hall hosted by top Democratic activists.

Emanuel has been crisscrossing the country in recent months, as he considers a presidential bid, including stops in two other crucial early primary states, Nevada and South Carolina, where he heads later this week.

He said he’ll become a presidential candidate “if I think I have what it takes to answer what I think is ailing the greatest country.”

Emanuel, who hails from the more moderate center-left wing of the party, emphasized that in order to win in 2028, Democrats need to “centralize and ground ourselves in middle class values, tough enforcement at the border, put more police on the beat, and get kids, guns and gangs off the street, and invest in education opportunities.”

“Get to the core of what they expect from us and don’t get caught up in some cultural cul-de-sac that leads nowhere,” he added.

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Potential 2028 Democratic presidential contender Rahm Emanuel greets audience members at ‘Politics and Eggs,’ a speaking series at Saint Anselm College’s New Hampshire Institute of Politics, on March 30, 2026, in Manchester. N.H. (Paul Steinhauser/Fox News)

As Democrats look for a fighter in 2028 to win back the White House, Emanuel is showing off his scrappy side.

“These are tough times that require a tough leader that knows how to do tough things and get them done on behalf of the American people. That’s the measure,” he told Fox News Digital.

And Emanuel also repeatedly took aim at Trump and his administration for their handling of the president’s efforts to acquire Greenland and the month-long strikes against Iran.

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“It’s a war of choice, and it’s a bad choice,” Emanuel said of Trump. “He could have gotten everything he wanted without going to war.”

And taking another shot, he said, “If they ever run a sequel to ‘Dumb and Dumber,’ I have recommendations for the lead roles, and there’s lots of competition in this administration.”

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Harris accuses Trump allies of trying to ‘rig’ 2026 midterms after Virginia court tosses redistricting measure

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Harris accuses Trump allies of trying to ‘rig’ 2026 midterms after Virginia court tosses redistricting measure

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Former Vice President Kamala Harris accused President Donald Trump and Republicans of trying to “rig the 2026 elections” after the Virginia Supreme Court invalidated a voter-approved redistricting referendum, a ruling she said would “give a boost” to that effort.

“Today, the Virginia Supreme Court ignored the will of the people and overturned those democratically chosen maps,” Harris wrote on X on May 8.

“This ruling gives a boost to Donald Trump’s effort to rig the 2026 elections and the Republicans’ long game to attack voting rights,” she added.

The ruling marked a significant victory for Republicans ahead of the 2026 midterms and escalated an already intensifying national battle over redistricting and control of Congress.

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VIRGINIA SUPREME COURT RULES ON NEW CONGRESSIONAL MAP

Former Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a fireside chat at MEET Las Vegas in Las Vegas, Nev., on May 7, 2026. (Ian Maule/Getty Images)

“We hold that the legislative process employed to advance this proposal violated Article XII, Section 1 of the Constitution of Virginia,” the state’s high court said in its decision. “This constitutional violation incurably taints the resulting referendum vote and nullifies its legal efficacy.”

The measure, which passed by a narrow 51% to 49% margin, would have temporarily shifted redistricting authority from Virginia’s nonpartisan commission to the Democrat-controlled legislature through 2030 and was expected to yield a 10-1 Democratic advantage in the state’s congressional delegation.

Trump praised the decision in a post on Truth Social, calling it a “Huge win for the Republican Party, and America, in Virginia.”

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‘JUSTICE’: CELEBRATION, MOCKERY ERUPT AFTER SPANBERGER ‘GERRYMANDER’ IS BLOWN UP IN BLOCKBUSTER DECISION

Former Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a fireside chat at MEET Las Vegas in Las Vegas, Nev., on May 7, 2026. (Ian Maule/Getty Images)

“The Virginia Supreme Court has just struck down the Democrats’ horrible gerrymander,” he wrote.

Democrats sharply criticized the ruling. Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin said “a group of unelected judges on the Virginia Supreme Court chose to put partisan politics over the will of the people.”

Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones also pushed back, saying the decision “silences the voices of the millions of Virginians who cast their ballots” and that his office is evaluating “every legal pathway forward.”

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ERIC HOLDER ACCUSES GOP OF ‘STEALING SEATS’ WHILE DEFENDING ‘FAIR’ DEMOCRATIC REDISTRICTING PUSH

A person votes in the Virginia redistricting referendum at Fairfax Government Center in Fairfax, Va., on April 21, 2026. (Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP)

Harris echoed that sentiment in her post, writing, “We are rightfully outraged, but we will not give up. We must continue our fight to restore the power of the people.”

Her comments come as she has stepped up attacks on Trump in recent appearances while facing renewed questions about her political future.

At a recent event in Las Vegas, Harris said, “For far too many people in our country, the American dream, is not real. And in fact, for many people in their lived experience, it’s what they would consider an American myth.”

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KAMALA HARRIS’ TRAVELS AND COMMENTS CLEARLY POINT TO 2028

The approved referendum could result in a 10-1 advantage for Democrats in Virginia’s congressional delegation, up from their current 6-5 edge, if the court’s do not ultimately strike it down. (Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP Photo)

She also declined to downplay Trump, saying, “I’m not going to dismiss him as being an idiot. He’s dangerous.”

At the same time, top Democrats have been reluctant to weigh in on whether Harris should lead the party in 2028.

“I have no idea,” Rep. Jim Clyburn, D-S.C., told Fox News Digital when asked about her future.

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“I have no idea who’s running, and we’ll focus on 2028 after 2026,” Rep. Dan Goldman, D-N.Y., said.

Rep. John Larson, D-Conn., said the decision ultimately rests with Harris but added he believes Democrats should have “a wide-open Democratic primary.”

The Virginia ruling is the latest flashpoint in a broader redistricting fight as both parties position themselves ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.

Harris, for her part, signaled she intends to remain engaged.

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“I firmly and strongly believe that when you feel powerless, you are powerless,” Harris said. “And when you feel powerful, you are powerful. And we are powerful and we are powerful. And so let’s just show ourselves, each other, our power around the midterms and every day.”

Fox News Digital’s Breanne Deppisch, Leo Briceno, Olivia Palombo, and Paul Steinhauser contributed to this reporting.

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California abortion pill suppliers ready with workaround in case of Supreme Court ban

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California abortion pill suppliers ready with workaround in case of Supreme Court ban

The last time the Supreme Court threatened to end access to the country’s most popular abortion method, California’s network of online providers and their pharmaceutical suppliers scrambled to respond.

Now, with the fate of the cocktail used in roughly two-thirds of U.S. terminations once again in the balance, they’re not even breaking a sweat.

Dr. Michele Gomez, co-founder of the MYA Network, a consortium of virtual reproductive healthcare providers, said the supply chain is “ready to switch in a day” to an alternative drug combination.

“It’s not going away and it’s not going to slow down,” Gomez said.

On May 1, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled to block the drug mifepristone from being prescribed virtually and shipped through the mail, making such deliveries illegal across the country. On Monday, the Supreme Court stayed that decision, allowing prescriptions to resume until the court issues an emergency ruling next week.

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Mifepristone is the first half of a two-drug protocol for medication abortion, which made up 63% of all legal abortions in the U.S. in 2023.

Between a quarter and a third of those abortion drugs are now prescribed by healthcare providers over the internet and delivered by mail — a path Louisiana and other ban states are fighting to bar.

“Abortion access has gone up with all the telehealth providers,” Gomez said. “We uncovered an unmet need.”

But the cocktail’s second ingredient, misoprostol, can be used to produce abortion on its own — a method that’s often more painful and slightly less effective.

It would be easy for suppliers to switch to a misoprostol-only protocol — and much harder for courts to block it, experts said.

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“We heard about this on Friday and organizations that mail pills were mailing misoprostol on Saturday,” Gomez said. “They already knew what to do.”

After the Supreme Court overturned Roe vs. Wade in 2022, California became one of the first states to enshrine abortion rights for residents in its Constitution and legislate protection for clinicians who prescribe abortion pills to women in states with bans.

Last fall, legislators in Sacramento expanded those protections by allowing pills to be mailed without either the doctor or the patient’s name attached.

But cases like the one being decided next week could still sharply limit abortion rights even in states with extensive legal protections, experts warned.

Even though California has built a fortress around its own constitutional protections of reproductive freedom, those [protections] become vulnerable to the whims of antiabortion states if the Supreme Court gives those states their imprimatur,” said Michele Goodwin, professor at Georgetown Law and an expert on reproductive justice.

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Coral Alonso sings in Spanish as protesters rally on the three-year anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning Roe vs. Wade on June 24, 2025, in Los Angeles. The ruling ended the federal right to legal abortion in the United States.

(David McNew / Getty Images)

Legal experts are split over how the justices will decide the medication’s mail-order fate.

“This is a case where law clearly won’t matter,” said Eric J. Segall, a law professor at Georgia State University and an expert on the Supreme Court.

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“In a very important midterm election year, I think there’s at least two Republicans on the court who will decide that upholding the 5th Circuit would really hurt the Republicans at the polls,” he said. “If women can’t get this by mail in California or other blue states where abortion is legal, it’s going to have devastating consequences, and I think the court knows that.”

But he and others believe it’s no longer a matter of if — but when and how — the drugs are restricted, including in California.

“This is curating a backdrop for a legal showdown that may surely come,” Goodwin said.

The court’s most conservative justices could find grounds to act in the long-forgotten Comstock Act of 1873. The brainchild of America’s zealously anti-porn postmaster Anthony Comstock, the law not only banned the mailing of the “Birth of Venus” and “Lady Chatterley’s Lover,” but also condoms, diaphragms and any drug, tool or text that could be used to produce an abortion.

Though it hasn’t been enforced since the 1970s, the antiabortion provision of the law remains on the books, experts said.

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“The next move is with the Comstock Act, which Justices Alito and Thomas have already been hinting at,” Goodwin said. “In that case, it’s like playing Monopoly — we could skip mifepristone and go straight to contraception. The goal is to make sure none of that gets to be in the mail.”

That move would upend how Americans get both abortions and birth control, and put an unassuming L.A. County pharmacy squarely in the government’s crosshairs.

Although doctors in nearly two dozen states can safely prescribe medication abortion to women anywhere in the U.S., only a handful of specialty pharmacies actually fill those mail orders, Gomez explained. Among the largest is Honeybee in Culver City, which did not reply to requests for comment.

Even if the justices don’t reach for Comstock, a decision in Louisiana’s favor next week could create a two-tiered system of abortion across California and other blue states, experts said.

“The people this case hurts the most are the poor and the rural,” said Segall, the Supreme Court expert.

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National data show that abortion patients are disproportionately poor. Most are also already mothers. Losing mail access to mifepristone would leave many with the more painful, less effective option while those with the time and means to reach a clinic continue to get the gold standard of care.

“There are fundamental questions of citizenship at the heart of this,” said Goodwin, the constitutional scholar. “Under the 14th Amendment, women are supposed to have equality, citizenship, liberty. It’s as though the Supreme Court has taken a black marker and pressed it against all of those words.”

For Gomez and other providers, that’s tomorrow’s problem.

“The lawyers and the politicians are just going to do their thing,” the doctor said. “The healthcare providers are just trying to get medications to people who need them.”

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Which Trump Tariffs Are in Place, in the Works or Ruled Illegal

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Which Trump Tariffs Are in Place, in the Works or Ruled Illegal

Under President Trump, the tariffs keep on changing.

The latest shift arrived this week after a federal trade court ruled that the current centerpiece of his trade strategy — a 10 percent tax on most imports from around the world — exceeded the president’s authority under the law.

For now, that across-the-board duty remains in place, with an appeal getting underway. Still, the legal battle, which is far from finished, adds to the uncertainty that has plagued businesses and consumers throughout Mr. Trump’s global trade war.

Sorting out the tariffs that currently apply (or don’t) generally has boiled down to tracking the status of a handful of high-stakes lawsuits.

Many of the president’s tariffs — the sky-high rates that he first imposed on what became known as “Liberation Day” last year — were struck down by the Supreme Court in February. The administration has begun the work to refund the money collected under those duties, which totals around $166 billion, and the first checks are expected to arrive as soon as Monday.

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This bucket of tariffs includes the country-by-country rates that Mr. Trump first announced to combat the illicit sale of drugs, as well as those he imposed on a “reciprocal” basis in response to what he described as persistent trade imbalances.

Other tariffs applied by Mr. Trump are more legally settled, yet have shifted up or down with some frequency as the White House has sought to accomplish its economic goals — or lessen the consequences of the president’s policies. These include the tariffs that the president applied to products like cars and steel on national security grounds, using a legal provision known as Section 232.

Yet much remains uncertain about Mr. Trump’s next steps, and his tariffs are expected to change considerably — again — in the coming months. Using another set of authorities, known as Section 301, the administration has opened investigations into the trade practices of dozens of countries. Mr. Trump’s goal is to revive the sort of tariffs that he had in place before the Supreme Court sided against him.

At the same time, Mr. Trump has continued to lob new tariff threats against countries, including those in Europe, while promising in general terms to double down on his strategy even in the face of court setbacks.

“We always do it a different way,” Mr. Trump said this week when asked about his latest loss. “We get one ruling, and we do it a different way.”

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