New York City Mayor Eric Adams has grown increasingly friendly toward President-elect Donald Trump, raising questions about what both men are up to.
“I don’t want people talking at each other,” Adams said Tuesday. “I want people to talk to each other. I made it clear that I’m not going to be warring with [the Trump] administration. I’m going to be working with this administration.”
Adams also announced that he’ll meet on Dec. 12 with Trump’s “border czar” Tom Homan, continuing his outspoken stance on the issue of illegal immigration among big-city Democratic mayors.
“We’re very clear in the city,” Adams said Thursday on MSNBC. “These cities have laws. I questioned the sanctuary city law that we have in place. I think we went too far by not cooperating with ICE with someone who is a violent offender.”
What links Adams to Trump, aside from their concerns about securing the border, is that both have faced indictments.
Trump drew a host of charges over the last four years, and even a felony conviction in New York City that was handed down last summer. Adams was indicted himself this September on corruption charges, and both Adams and Trump have implied that their charges were politically motivated.
Adams and Trump each say that the mayor’s immigration stance led to his charges, and when Adams attended the New York City-based Al Smith Dinner in October, Trump came to his defense.
“Mayor Adams, good luck with everything,” Trump said, drawing laughs. “They went after you, mayor. Boy, I knew that. Nine and a half months ago, I said … he’s going to be indicted any moment, and guess what happened?”
Trump then predicted that Adams would beat the charges.
“You’re going to win, I think you’re going to win. I know you’re going to win. So good luck,” Trump added.
Now Damian Williams, the prosecutor in the Adams case, has resigned following Trump’s reelection victory, with the incoming president planning to name a replacement after he takes office.
But Adams will be in a tough spot politically even if he beats the case. He’s up for reelection in 2025 and the specter of the indictment has rocked his status with constituents. Some have called for him to resign, though he’s resisted, and a host of Democrats are weighing a run against him in the party primary, including former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
Jake Dilemani, a Democratic political strategist based in New York City, says Adams is only being logical by working with Trump.
“It is the responsible thing to do for any mayor, including Mayor Adams, to attempt to work with the federal government, even if ruled by a different political party, when it is in the interests of the city and its citizens to do so,” Dilemani said. “Similarly, it’s incumbent upon any mayor to stand up to the administration when they don’t have the city’s best interests at heart. Part of being a successful mayor is balancing the two.”
While some suspect Adams is angling for a Trump pardon or a spot in the administration if his run as mayor comes to an end, Dilemani is ready to give the benefit of the doubt.
“There are some voters who will view this cynically, but there are others who are sick and tired of the partisan fireworks and just want their elected officials to get the job done,” he added. “At the end of the day, it’s the results that matter.”
When asked about the Adams love by the Washington Examiner, Trump spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said the administration is glad to work with anyone toward better results.
“President Trump will serve ALL Americans, even those who did not vote for him in the election,” Leavitt said in a written response. “He will unify the country through success.”
Even so, Adams’s pledge to work with Trump and his views on illegal immigration stand in sharp contrast with other big-city mayors.
Los Angeles, for example, has declared itself a sanctuary city and will ban municipal employees from assisting federal immigration authorities. Denver Mayor Mike Johnson has mused about a “Tiananmen Square moment” in which his city’s police stand up to federal authorities trying to deport people who are in the country illegally.
Adams is still a Democrat from a deep-blue city, but he’s grown closer to Trump since the indictment.
When Adams was asked by the Washington Examiner in early October whether he welcomes Trump’s support, Adams made waves by saying that he would “welcome support from every American,” — Trump included.
Since then, the two have been seen together at the Al Smith Dinner and at UFC 309, though Adams press secretary Kayla Mamelak Altus said he made the latter appearance in his private capacity.
“Making sensational statements disavowing the president-elect may generate attention for a political campaign, but it is poor policy and serves no benefit to the people of this city,” Altus said at the time.
Adams has even waded into non-New York City topics like Trump’s selection of administration officials. He praised the pick of Tesla CEO Elon Musk as head of the Department of Government Efficiency, saying Musk could help rein in an antiquated government.
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Trump made some impressive inroads in his hometown during the 2024 election, outperforming his 2020 numbers by 11 points in Manhattan, by 13 points in Brooklyn, and by nearly 22 points in Queens and the Bronx.
Still, Vice President Kamala Harris won the Big Apple overall with 68% of the vote compared to Trump’s 30%. Adams faces a tricky path toward reelection as his Trump ties grow closer.