Launching attacks on former President Barack Obama is not the way for Democrats to win the party's presidential nomination, ex-Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who served as Obama's chief of staff, said Tuesday.
"If you go back about seven debates, as you remember, one of the big uproars was the fact that almost every candidate was throwing Barack Obama under the bus," Emanuel, the author of the new book "The Nation City: Why Mayors Are Now Running the World," told Fox News' "America's Newsroom." "A lot of them have to explain, given that the former president, not just with Democrats at 95% was well-received among the country as a whole."
Emanuel's comments came after audio recorded in 2016, and leaked to CNN, showed current presidential candidate Mike Bloomberg referring to his 2012 endorsement of Obama as "backhanded" and Elizabeth Warren as "scary."
"[Bloomberg] is going to have to defend it," Emanuel said. "Bernie may get asked about the idea that he wanted to primary Barack Obama."
Meanwhile, Bloomberg's lackluster performance at the recent debates in Las Vegas show he has been too used to being off the campaign trail, Emanuel said.
"If you can't handle a debate stage, the Oval Office isn't easier," he added.
Emanuel said his book details how mayors are taking on an enhanced role in not only local government, but on a national and international level.
"The former mayor of London is prime minister now," said Emanuel, and the Democrats' presidential candidate field has three ex-mayors seeking office, but no governors.