New York City Mayor Eric Adams on Friday (September 5, 2025) said he won’t succumb to pressure to end his reelection campaign and insisted he is the only candidate strong enough to beat the Democratic nominee, Zohran Mamdani.
Mr. Adams declared his intention to stay in the race at the end of a fraught week that began with a trip to Florida, where Mr. Trump administration intermediaries sought to assess his willingness to quit the race to take a job with the federal government.
Earlier Friday, Mr. Adams appeared to leave the door open to a departure, releasing a statement saying he “will always listen if called to serve our country” but adding he had not yet received any “formal offers”.
Hours later, he summoned reporters to the mayor’s official residence, Gracie Mansion, to slam that door back shut.
Democratic mayoral nominee and state Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani
| Photo Credit:
Getty Images via AFP
“I am in this race. And I am the only one who can beat Mamdani,” Adams said.
“How many times have I been told throughout this journey to step aside, to surrender, to give up, to give in,” he said.
“That’s the same thing we tell everyday New Yorkers. Everyday New Yorkers are not giving up, are not giving in, are not surrendering, so their mayor is not going to do that.”
Mr. Adams dismissed Mr. Mamdani and former governor Andrew Cuomo, both fellow Democrats, as “two spoiled brats” who are “not like us”, then walked off as a throng of reporters shouted questions.
Trump’s preference
Mr. Trump has told reporters he would prefer not to have Mr. Mamdani, a 33-year-old democratic socialist, as New York’s next mayor, but believed it was inevitable unless two of the three other major candidates in the race dropped out. Besides Mr. Cuomo and Mr. Adams, Republican Curtis Sliwa is also on the ballot.
Moments after Mr. Adams’ announcement, Mr. Trump was asked about it by reporters at the White House.
“He’s free to do what he wants,” Mr. Trump said of Mr. Adams, but he added that Adams staying in the contest might help cement a Mamdani victory.
“Cuomo might have a chance of winning if it was one-on-one. If you have more than one candidate running against (Mamdani), it can’t be won,” Mr. Trump said.
During a trip to Florida this week, Mr. Adams met with Steve Witkoff, a former real estate developer in New York who is now one of Mr. Trump’s main diplomatic envoys in Washington, said Mr. Adams’ campaign spokesperson, Todd Shapiro.
It was unclear what specifically was discussed.
Mr. Adams skipped the Democratic primary, saying he was sidelined from campaigning after he was indicted last year on bribery charges.
Mr. Trump’s Justice Department then dropped the criminal case, saying it was distracting Mr. Adams from helping with the president’s immigration crackdown.
In an interview, former Democratic New York governor David Paterson said he spoke with the mayor Wednesday morning. Mr. Adams told him he wanted to remain in the race but had received offers, Mr. Paterson said.
“He said, Listen, they say I have some offers. I have a lot of offers. Then he started laughing. And he was saying that, you know, he really doesn’t want to leave and he’s trying to work that out so he doesn’t have to,” Mr. Paterson, who has endorsed Adams for reelection, said.
“He didn’t get specific about it, but I got that in his heart of hearts, he really wants to stay. But I also got that, even though he didn’t say it, that the odds can’t be very good.”
Mr. Mamdani won the Democratic nomination after soundly defeating Mr. Cuomo in the primary. He could be a heavy favourite in the general election if Cuomo and Mr. Adams split the centrist vote and most Republicans vote for Sliwa.
“Through the collusion and corruption of the past few months, our relentless focus on the affordability crisis — created by Andrew Cuomo and inflamed by Eric Adams — has not wavered,” Mr. Mamdani said in a statement Friday.
“November, we’re going to deliver a city working New Yorkers can afford and turn the page on the broken, billionaire-backed politics of the past.”
Published – September 06, 2025 11:07 am IST
