NYC Mayor Adams continues his MAGA courtship. He must really need Trump's pardon. | Opinion
New York City Mayor Eric Adams wants MAGA's support so much he's lowered himself to a Tucker Carlson interview.
The New York City mayor must represent the will of nearly 8 million people. But Mayor Eric Adams is only thinking about himself. Why else would he be trying to win favor with Republicans as his own legal problems loom?
Adams made a series of moves this week that raised eyebrows, including attending President Donald Trump’s inauguration and sitting down with right-wing personality Tucker Carlson for a 50-minute interview.
Adams, who has been indicted on five federal criminal charges, is likely only doing this because he believes there is a possibility Trump will pardon him. In doing so, he goes against the will of the New York City voters who elected a Democrat.
In a time when Democrats should be standing up to the Trump administration, Adams is trying to win favor with the new president.
Adams flirts with Republican Party, talked to Tucker Carlson about leaving Democrats
In his interview with Carlson, Adams didn’t shy away from talking about his conflicts with the Biden administration over immigration. Since 2022, the city has welcomed more than 225,000 migrants.
“Basically, be a good Democrat, Eric,” Adams said. “One of his aides told me that listen, this is like a gallstone. It’ll pass.”
The Democratic mayor is clearly at odds with who the party and the people want him to be.
“People often say, ‘Well, you know, you don’t sound like a Democrat and you know, you seemed to have left the party,” Adams said. “No, the party left me and it left working-class people.”
In a way, his assertion that the Democrats have abandoned the working class resonates with me. I don’t think it’s a secret that the party has some serious soul-searching to do in the wake of the loss of Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris. I just doubt that what they’re looking for will be found by buddying up with Trump and those in his orbit.
Adams, who once accused Carlson of perpetuating "racist, anti-immigrant propaganda,” did not push back on some of Carlson’s comments on immigration or criticism of congestion pricing. In fact, the interview was pretty friendly.
This is just one instance of Adams’ recent flirtation with the Republican Party.
Last week, the mayor met with Trump at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. He canceled appearances at Martin Luther King Jr. Day events in New York City in favor of attending Trump’s inauguration at the last minute.
Instead of spending time in the city and listening to concerned New Yorkers, Adams would rather look out for himself. He seems eager to ask Trump, a convicted felon who just pardoned about 1,500 people who tried to storm the U.S. Capitol, to absolve him of his alleged crimes. Once again, New Yorkers are the ones who suffer.
It's clear that Adams doesn't care about New Yorkers
I think Adams is trying to get a pardon from Trump, and the president hasn’t ruled it out.
While Trump picked up votes in the five boroughs, the majority of people in New York City voted for Harris. If Adams is supposed to represent the voters, he shouldn’t be cozying up to MAGA types.
The mayor is up for reelection this year, and there’s already a rich field of candidates trying to take his place. Several of them have weighed in on Adams’ relationship with the Trump administration.
When New Yorkers go to the polls in November, they will remember the friendliness between Adams and Trump. They will vote accordingly.
Follow Paste BN columnist Sara Pequeño on X, formerly Twitter: @sara__pequeno