A mayoral candidate – and not the mayor – met with President Joe Biden at the White House Monday, to discuss how to fight the rise in gun violence in New York and cities across the country.

“We must have a plan that’s prevention and intervention,” Eric Adams told reporters after his meeting.

The Brooklyn borough president — and mayoral favorite — visited the West Wing just one day after yet another violent weekend in New York City. Leaders from Washington, D.C., Chicago, Memphis, and other communities also participated.

Adams argued they must address the underlying causes of violence, from education deficits to unemployment to the lack of resources in impoverished areas.

“We’ve abandoned Black and Brown and poor communities in this country,” Adams said.

The Biden administration’s plan includes allowing states and local governments to reroute dollars from the American Rescue Plan to help promote public safety. 

In a memo released in advance of the meeting, the White House touted the millions of dollars New York City is prepared to put toward violence intervention programs.

“We have to come together to fulfill the first responsibility of democracy: that’s keep each other safe,” Biden said at the start of the meeting.

Part of the White House pitch is using funds to put more officers on the beat. 

Asked about the situation in New York City, Adams said it is important to first evaluate how officers are being used.

“Do we need to hire more police officers? No. It means using the dollars correctly,” Adams said. “If that means putting more police in our subway system, let's do that. If that means putting more police officers out of their vehicles and walk the streets and have greater community engagement, let’s do that.”

The White House meeting comes just days after Adams secured a victory in the Democratic mayoral primary. Speaking to reporters at the White House, Adams likened himself to the “Biden of Brooklyn.”

He ran opposing the progressive push to defund the police, while touting his own past calls for law enforcement reforms.

“We have an entire generation that was raised to dislike their police. Now we have to turn that around and that is what the next administration and this administration must do,” he said.

After his visit to the White House, Adams dropped by Capitol Hill for a meeting with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. An Adams aide said they had a “positive” conversation about collaborating to combat gun violence.