we just watched a Democratic debate, um...

which has gotten a lot more exciting

than it has been in the past few debates.

You've been involved in Democratic politics,

specifically, for a very long time.

How do you think the Democratic race is going?

Uh, well, I think-- here's how I look at it.

What's interesting-- just one observation--

is that viewership of the debates is up,

but participation in the primaries is not.

It's not beating 2008, when we had record turnouts.

So that... concerns me.

In 2018, 2019, we had record energy.

And right now, uh, the debates are not producing

the type of energy you want to see.

So I have a small flashing yellow light saying:

a little concern on that.

It can always flip,

but right now I'm a little concerned about that.

And also, the other thing is that I have a new respect

for my family Thanksgiving dinner--

it looks a lot calmer compared to this.

-(laughter) -It does seem like it has become a lot more testy.

You know, Bloomberg stepping into the race

might have been a catalyst, but it feels like

as the field narrows, people are gonna fighting...

-The stakes are higher. -Yeah.

You were in the D-triple-C.

You have been part of helping Democrats win major elections.

You know, helping Bill Clinton become president,

working with Barack Obama as his chief of staff.

Here's a question that maybe you

would be mostly uniquely positioned to answer.

We have two mayors on that stage...

Three.

Three... previous mayors, with Bernie Sanders, yes.

But two mayors, you know, who just stepped out of being mayor,

saying that they want to run the country as president.

Yeah.

Does a mayor have the prerequisite experience

to run a country?

You've worked with a president, and you've been mayor.

How much of it gives you the experience you need?

Well, first of all, a lot.

Um, I... you know, the number one job

before being for president was governor.

All four governors

have been thrown off the island, basically,

and you're now left with mayors.

In England, the mayor of London

has just become the prime minister.

-Right. -And the experiences of dealing with...

When you think about where you live, where you work,

how you get to work, the things around your neighborhood,

from libraries to parks, those are all services

local governments deal with.

When you look at the major issues on climate change,

cities are leading.

When you look at the major cities-- Chicago,

we made community college free for the students

of the city of Chicago who got a B average.

We made pre-K universal for all our four-year-olds.

So the things that are major

in the sense of inclusive economic growth,

climate change, immigration policy,

mayors are taking that lead.

And the other piece of this, two other pieces of this--

the second piece is you actually fail in the job,

and you learn, then, from that experience.

And legislating is not really about failure.

Give one-- I used to say to President Clinton:

If we knew in the first year of the first term

what we knew by the first...

by the, uh, first year of the second term,

-we'd be geniuses. -Right.

And if you go back in history-- think about President Kennedy.

He had the Bay of Pigs. A mess.

Realized the Joint Chiefs

didn't know what they were talking about,

took a study of it,

and when it came to the Cuban Missile Crisis,

-Mm-hmm. -he knew how to handle it.

And mayors... stumble all the time.

And then the other piece of that--

and then pick themselves up, learn from it

and apply it to the future. And then the third piece...

But wait, let me ask you this before you go to that, though.

So if-if that's the case, if mayors are running the world,

then why is everyone running to be president?

Well, because it still has... the challenge you take on--

not everybody's... not every mayor's running to be president.

But I think the real thing is of what is happening,

-is you have a global economy, -Mm-hmm.

but all politics is local.

And 75% of the American people

have confidence in their local government,

and that number's in the mid-20s for national government.

Uh, and I do also think one other thing.

We're falling... we're really ripping apart.

In the city of Chicago-- this is true in New York,

it's true in L.A., it's true in a lot of cities of all sizes--

we have 145 languages spoken in our city.

Many different faiths, cultures, backgrounds.

But the aspiration of a parent,

regardless of where they came from,

-Right. -is the same for their child.

And mayors form a community and a sense of belonging.

And in a period of time of alienation and distance,

that sense of belonging gives you something

that is really an asset going forward,

where your diversity really can become a strength

rather than a liability.

So, let me ask you this, then, about the book.

Because I understand what you're saying about,

you know, being a mayor who's bringing people together.

In the book, you talk about the journey

that you've been on as a mayor.

You talk about the challenges that you face,

you know, on a day-to-day level

working for your constituents directly.

Is there something that makes being a mayor unique

in how you're dealing with people

versus just larger issues?

Yeah, I mean, you're, you know, there's a part of the book

where I talk about, I mean, you celebrate together,

-you have pain together, -Mm-hmm.

you have, uh, joy... moments of joy,

and then you work through a lot of issues.

You are in touch with the people,

and in many ways, I mean, people give you--

especially in Chicago-- there's thumbs-up,

and there's another digit they can also tell you,

and that happens all the time.

Uh, and I think that happens in the...

That was a cleaned-up version for me.

-I really, I'm proud of myself. -Right.

That's very unusual for me.

Uh, so the fact is, that's what happens.

And... but also, you can be there when--

and I will say this-- when I created

the Chicago Star Scholarship-- you got a B average,

we make community college, transportation, books free--

I saw the relief on parents' face,

that they didn't have to pick

which child got a chance to go to college.

They didn't have to take a second mortgage on their home

to give their child a chance at the American dream.

And the relief of the sense that they could be a good parent

and see what they could never get for themselves,

but for their children, that can only happen at a local level.

Now, I would love to have had a federal partner,

but I had to make sure every chance...

every child had a chance at the future.

And you do talk about that, and you have been given

a lot of credit for what you've done

in the education space in Chicago.

At the same time, you've taken a lot of fire,

-you know, for... -In education.

Right, in education as well, but you've taken a lot of fire

for closing down schools

that were predominantly black or Latino.

People have said, "You know, Mayor,

"why did you close down those schools

in areas where people needed it the most?"

-You know how important it is -Right.

to have black and brown kids in school, learning, growing.

You closed those schools down,

because you said they were underperforming.

A lot of the teachers went on strike,

and they said you weren't catering to their needs.

Where do you think you could have done better,

or what do you think you could have done differently?

So, the first part is, when I ran in 2011,

Chicago had the shortest school day and the shortest school year

in the United States of America.

I made a pledge to get that done.

That our children were not gonna be cheated

three years of education compared to a child in Houston.

Now, I could have said, "Hey," when I got elected,

"this is really hard," and then people would be angry

-I gave up on a pledge. -Mm-hmm.

I made that pledge, and I wanted to see it through.

It led to a seven-day strike, but in the end of the day,

our graduation rate went from 56% to nearly 80%

Our reading scores and math scores

for all kids of all backgrounds rose

and sometimes, in many ways, set national standards.

So, being a mayor, you're gonna...

If all you want to be loved, don't run for that job.

-Right. -If you want to make a decision

where the decisions you make

and you put your thumb on the scale

and the difference between a 56% graduation rate

and an 80% graduation rate is kids can believe in themselves

and then have a chance at a future.

-Did you... -And that's what public life is about.

Right. But do you ever... do you ever wonder

why, you know, people in Chicago...

Not all of them. I cannot speak for all of them.

You know more than them, obviously.

But-but in Chicago, there was... there was a term

that some people used for you where they would say,

"Rahm was an amazing mayor for the one percent."

-Yeah. -You know, and you knew that yourself.

You've even spoken about that.

Where do you think that came from?

Well, because we-we did a lot of things,

and let me say this.

We never gave a subsidy to any of the the sports teams.

We expanded the minimum wage.

-We created universal, full-day pre-K. -Mm-hmm.

We also eliminated all the tax subsidies

that governments were getting. Companies were getting, rather.

-Right. -And, so, I can understand the charge,

but I also know the record, and I know the difference

in Chicago public schools where when you graduate high school

and go to community college,

there's nobody in the one percent getting that.

-I get the politics of it. -Right.

But I also know when you made a major dent in the food deserts

where there were no grocery stores

within, uh, five mile of a neighborhood

in a community on the South Side or the West Side,

that was not just a job,

and that was not just a grocery store.

That was also the respect of that community.

-That comes with politics, and I get that. -Right.

Let me... let me ask you about an interesting trend

and dilemma that America faces.

On the stage tonight, we had two...

As you said, three former mayors with Bernie Sanders,

-but two who say mayor was their last public office job. -Yeah.

-Mm-hmm. -And those two are also the two

that are taking the most flak for their relationships

with the black communities that they served

and the police and how they treated them.

You yourself are a mayor who's came under fire

for the way your police treated

the black community in your city.

You know, the Laquan McDonald case was one

where people said you could have done a better job