NYC’s Embattled Mayor Embraces Trump in Bid for Warmer Relations
(Bloomberg) -- California Governor Gavin Newsom is vowing to pursue “Trump-proofing” and has said “the freedoms we hold dear in California are under attack — and we won’t sit idle.” Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker proclaimed that “you come for my people, you come through me.” And from Los Angeles to Chicago to Boston, Democratic mayors have declared that they’re ready to fight to protect vulnerable residents.
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But in New York City, which was at the vanguard of the so-called “resistance” to Donald Trump in 2017, Mayor Eric Adams is not only refusing to criticize the president-elect — he’s openly embracing him. Literally.
Over the weekend, Adams took the opportunity to greet Trump with a warm clasp of hands at an Ultimate Fighting Championship event at Madison Square Garden. The pair hobnobbed as Kid Rock and Elon Musk looked on, according to video posted on social media.
For Adams, a centrist Democrat whose 2021 campaign centered on a law-and-order platform, the seeming openness follows a series of moves — or lack thereof — that signal he’ll be more deferential to Trump than many of his counterparts across the country.
He defended a controversial rally at Madison Square Garden before the election where speakers made racist remarks. He refused to call Trump a fascist like Vice President Kamala Harris did during her campaign. He has dodged questions about how his administration would handle the mass deportations that the president-elect has threatened, even as the city is home to more than 400,000 undocumented residents who could be at risk.
Adams, 64, also has gone out of his way not to criticize even Trump’s most controversial cabinet picks. On The View last week, the mayor took a studiously neutral position on the choice of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as head of the US Department of Health and Human Services, pushing back on the nominee’s stance on water fluoridation, while voicing support for his calls for more food regulation.
When asked what he thought about the attorney general nomination of Matt Gaetz, who was facing a House ethics investigation as Congressman, Adams told a local television station that “it’s not up to me to analyze a decision that any executive” makes to staff their team. Adams also offered unprompted praise of Trump’s relationship with Musk, saying the billionaire could help deal with “an antiquated government filled with bureaucracy, unwilling to make any changes.”
It “seems like he’s going to go out of his way to be neutral to friendly” to Trump, said Chris Coffey, a Democratic political consultant in New York.
The middle-of-the-road position has spurred speculation from political observers including Coffey that Adams, who was indicted on federal corruption charges in September, is angling for lenient treatment under the incoming Trump administration and its Justice Department. When asked about that prospect on The View, Adams said he couldn’t directly speak to an ongoing case but reiterated that he is innocent of the charges and is focused on city issues such as fighting crime, building housing and bolstering the economy.
“The mayor has been asked every version of this question and has answered it ad nauseam,” Adams’ office said in a statement.
Avoiding Retaliation
The refusal to jab Trump could serve multiple strategic purposes for Adams. For one, it may be designed to help insulate New York City and its finances from the president-elect’s well-known appetite for revenge.
In 2017, then-Mayor Bill de Blasio, an outspoken progressive, was among Democrats vocally leading the charge against Trump and his policies. Trump, a Queens native who was by many accounts deeply wounded by New Yorkers’ rejection of him, responded by retaliating against the city financially.
His administration repeatedly threatened to cut federal grant funding, including roughly $190 million in federal anti-terrorism aid to the New York Police Department. Trump also warned he may strip all federal aid from New York City and other “anarchist jurisdictions” during the fall of 2020, as he sought reelection. His signature tax law implemented a cap on state and local deductions that disproportionately hurt high-tax blue states like New York.
In a radio interview last week, Adams said “we need to be working with national leaders, not warring with national leaders.”
“We could spend the next four years pouting, or next four years fighting, but what does that do for New York City?” he said. “I have to deal with these real issues we’re facing as a city, and communication with this administration is, I think, is important as we deal with the infrastructure issues, as we deal with issues around housing.”
Common Cause
Adams isn’t entirely alone, especially after the election results showed that a broad swath of voters appeared to agree with Trump’s positions on issues like the economy and immigration. New York Governor Kathy Hochul, in need of future federal aid for infrastructure projects, called Trump to congratulate him two days after the election and had a “lengthy” conversation to discuss areas where they could work together.
“She needs Donald Trump to work with her and not be an obstacle,” said Christina Greer, associate professor of political science at Fordham University.
The gesture may already be paying dividends: When Hochul announced last week she intended to resume New York’s congestion-pricing program with a lower toll rate after pausing it last summer, Trump — an opponent of the program — released a relatively cordial response in disagreement.
“I have great respect for the Governor of New York, Kathy Hochul, and look forward to working with her to Make New York and America Great Again,” Trump said, adding, almost as an afterthought, that “I strongly disagree with the decision on the congestion tax.”
Beyond New York, Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey has said the federal government should prioritize stronger enforcement at the border with an increase in agents and resources, instead of mass deportations. She, like Adams, has said she supports the targeted deportation of violent criminals.
“Violent criminals should be deported, and they are,” Healey said in a statement. “I do not support rounding up millions of families who’ve lived here for a long time and who have kids here. I don’t think it’s humane or smart economically, and it will crater some of our major industries across the country.”
In other Democrat strongholds there’s a less conciliatory attitude among leaders, even if their cities and states need to work with the incoming administration. Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson said he will fight against “any and all attacks from Trump.” Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and Boston Mayor Michelle Wu have also issued statements pledging to protect immigrants.
Some Democrats are likely positioning themselves as future leaders of the national party. Newsom, widely seen as having presidential aspirations, staked ground against the president-elect right after the election, calling for a special California legislative session aimed at shielding the state from the new administration’s policies.
But Adams isn’t just fighting for his political future — he’s fighting for his personal freedom. He is facing a criminal trial scheduled for April, a little more than two months before he’ll run for reelection in a Democratic primary against a half-dozen credible challengers emboldened by the mayor’s low poll ratings and legal troubles.
Both Adams and Trump have argued that they were victims of politically motivated prosecutions under the Biden administration’s Justice Department. The mayor has repeatedly insinuated that his indictment was a result of his vocal criticism of President Joe Biden’s handling of the immigration crisis at the US southern border.
Trump has already tapped former Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Jay Clayton to replace the current US Attorney for Manhattan Damian Williams, whose office is handling the federal corruption case against Adams. Williams, who was appointed by Biden, has denied that his investigation is in any way politically motivated.
Trump, who was impeached twice and faced multiple federal criminal investigations, has also claimed he has been unfairly targeted.
“I know what it’s like to be persecuted by the DOJ for speaking out against open borders,” Trump said at the annual Al Smith charity dinner in New York last month. “We were persecuted, Eric. I was persecuted, and so are you, Eric.”
--With assistance from Isis Almeida, John Gittelsohn, Sri Taylor and Brooke Sutherland.
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