Rahm Emanuel Not Running For Chicago Mayor (VIDEO)

Despite the widespread rumors last week that Rahm Emanuel was considering a run for mayor of Chicago, the White House Chief of Staff insisted to MSNBC reporters that he plans to stay on in his current role "as long as the President wants me to stay here."

The interview began with Emanuel defending Harry Reid, describing his confidence level in the senator's ability to advance legislation as "100 per cent," despite the recent news of Reid's racially tinged remarks about President Obama. Emanuel said that he trusted Harry Reid to continue to carry out the Democrats' agenda in Congress. Savannah Guthrie and Chuck Todd then turned to the subject of Emanuel's rumored mayoral run.

Rumors began circulating around the political world when Washington Post reporter Sally Quinn mentioned the possibility of a run in a piece about the White House party crashers. But Emanuel was clear in the interview, saying that Richard M. Daley is "a great mayor of a great city," and expressing support for a Daley re-election bid.

Chicago's mayoral election will be held in 2011.

Watch the interview:

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Comments

[timba]

02:12 AM on 01/15/2010

Rahm should go work for the health insurance industry - well, he's already working for them - he might as well get paid.

[RnR]

10:25 AM on 01/12/2010

"As long as the president wants me" ... hah, same thing he said when in Clintons' white house and had been fired by his immediate supervisor Bill Clinton had to personally go to him and tell him to leave.

[SmolderingRuin]

01:20 AM on 01/12/2010

Sure. He was only using the WH COS job as a steppingstone. Mayor of Chicago was his goal all along. Guffaw.

[mratcheson]

12:05 PM on 01/12/2010

White House Chief of Staff is never a lifetime career.

[SmolderingRuin]

04:15 PM on 01/12/2010

Neither is president of the United States, fortunately.

[CherrySpring]

07:49 PM on 01/11/2010

He'd likely be more of the same anyway. Someone needs to dethrone Daley however.

[John Ridgway]

04:20 PM on 01/11/2010

The only thing most politicians can change is their minds.