New York Mayor Eric Adams held a press conference on Friday in which he dispelled widespread rumors that he would drop out of his bid for re-election and vowed to stay in the race, saying, "I'm running, and I'm going to beat Mamdani."
Adams, who was elected mayor as a Democrat in 2022, is running as an independent and facing an uphill battle against the Democratic Party’s mayoral nominee, Zohran Mamdani, a Ugandan-born Muslim and socialist. Former New York Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo is also running as an independent after losing to Mamdani in the Democratic primary race in June.
Adams took aim at both Mamdani and Cuomo during his Friday press conference, saying, "I have two spoiled brats running for mayor."
"I want to be clear with you," said Adams, "Andrew Cuomo is a snake and a liar. I am in this race and I'm the only one that can beat Mamdani."
ANDREW CUOMO CHALLENGES MAYORAL OPPONENT ZOHRAN MAMDANI TO 5 DEBATES ACROSS EACH OF NYC'S BOROUGHS
New York City Mayor Eric Adams clapped back Friday at reports that he has been considering dropping his bid for reelection to take a job in the Trump administration. (Fox News)
"This is such a pivotal and important period, and we have to get it right," he went on.
"They were born with silver spoons in their mouths. Not like working class New Yorkers. I'm a working-class New Yorker. They are not like us," he said. "They've never had to fight. They never had to struggle. They never had to go through difficult times like you and I had to go through, New Yorkers."
He took particular aim at Cuomo, accusing him of having "a career of pushing black candidates out of races."
He also addressed rumors that he is in discussions with President Donald Trump about possibly joining his administration.
TRUMP WANTS '2 PEOPLE TO DROP OUT' TO SET UP '1-ON-1' MAYORAL RACE WITH MAMDANI IN NYC
Former New York Governor and independent candidate for NYC Mayor Andrew Cuomo attends the funeral of slain NYPD officer Didarul Islam at Parkchester Jame Masjid on July 31, 2025, in the Parkchester neighborhood of the Bronx borough in New York City. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
"There's a lot of reports that I'm in Washington on Monday, those reports are wrong. I'm not," said Adams. "I'll be moving throughout this city in the five boroughs that made me mayor in the first place. I'm running for reelection, and I'm going to tell New Yorkers every day why I believe I should be the mayor of the city of New York in 2026."
He acknowledged that he is significantly behind Mamdani in the polls, but dismissed this, saying, "I hear the polls, I hear the comments, I hear the pundits.
"But those are the same polls that stated eight weeks out that Andrew Cuomo was up by 36 points, and even his poll had him up by ten points, those are the same polls as stated he was going to walk into becoming the mayor of the City of New York, who he believes is a consolation prize because he made the determination to step down [as governor]."
New York City Democratic mayoral nominee, Zohran Mamdani, on his anti-Trump tour across New York City at an event in the Bronx on Thursday, Aug. 14, 2025. (Deirdre Heavey/Fox News Digital)
"I'm running, and I'm going to beat Mamdani, and I'm going to continue the success that this city has witnessed," he said.
"I committed myself and dedicated myself to a city that I love, and I'm going to continue to do that. This polo shirt that I'm wearing that says Eric Adams, Mayor of the City of New York, I'm going to wear that for another four years."