Mayor Eric Adams on Friday did not rule out a switch back to the Republican Party, deflecting questions about the possibility by saying he was "part of the American party."

Adams was a registered Republican from April 1995 to November 2002, when he enrolled in the Democratic Party, according to the city Board of Elections.

Asked during a "Mornings On 1" interview if he would consider rejoining the Republican Party, the mayor sidestepped the question. 

"The party that's the most important for me is the American party. I'm a part of the American party. I love this country. This is the home of the free, the land of the brave," he said. "My 19-year-old [uncle] died on the fields of Vietnam protecting what this city and this country represents. And that's the party I'm going to always be a member of."

In a subsequent interview with PIX11, Adams allowed that he would run his campaign for reelection as a Democrat, but still didn't rule out an eventual party switch.

"We need to move away from identifying, classifying ourselves as anything other than Americans. I'm an American, and I'm going to continue to say that," he said. "So no matter what party I'm on or vote on, I'm going to push for the American values."

"I've been a Democrat for many years, and I'm going to run for my reelection as a Democrat. But my focus is the American people and the people of New York City," he added. "And those who don't like it, they would cancel me. And I say, cancel me. I'm for America."

Should Adams lose next June’s primary, he could try to run on the Republican line or even a third-party line — a successful tactic used by both Mayors John Lindsay and Vincent Impellitteri, who lost their party’s primary but still were reelected.

The mayor's comments come as he is set to sit down with incoming border czar Tom Homan next week to discuss President-elect Donald Trump's plan to deport undocumented immigrants. Adams has avoided criticizing Trump and the president-elect's mass deportation agenda, unlike most of his fellow Democrats.

“I stated prior to the election, we need to do something about those migrants, the small number of them that are committing crimes in our city,” Adams said. “It wasn’t about the election of the incoming president, who I refuse to be warring with. I’m going to be working with to bring resources home to this city and those who want to spin it the way they want, at the end of the day, people are going to see this is a city I loved.” 

At the same time, the mayor has been facing a federal corruption indictment, and it is unclear if Trump could pardon him.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries weighed in on Adams' comments at an unrelated press conference Friday.

"With respect to Mayor Adams, I'm going to support the Democratic nominee who emerges in the primary in June as it relates to the next mayor of the city of New York, and work as hard as I can partnering with the congressional delegation to make sure that the next mayor of the city of New York is a Democrat," Jeffries said.

Adams’ many primary opponents wasted no time weighing in, with some criticizing his apparent attempts to get closer with Trump.

“He’s fighting for a pardon. He looks through the lens of what’s best for Eric Adams and it’s a show that’s getting very tiring,” former City Comptroller Scott Stringer said.

“Eric Adams is spending his time at UFC fights rather than helping the New York City public. It is very clear and abundant that he doesn’t give a damn about New York City. He only wants to stay out of jail,” former state Assemblyman Michael Blake said.

“He’s changing parties as a matter of political survival. I think that’s a terrible reason for anyone to change political parties. I’m an independent because I’m an independent thinker,” attorney Jim Walden said.

“It’s not time for the mayor of the most important city in the country to be playing footsy with the president. We have to be willing to stand up for New York City values regardless of who is president,” State Sen. Zellnor Myrie said.

“What New Yorkers want to see is an alternative to the Trump movement, to the Trump administration. They don’t want to see a collaborator,” State Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani said.

“If Eric Adams wants to go back to being a Republican, I think he should just do that and allow the Democratic primary to continue so that New Yorkers can choose who the next leader of New York City will be,” State Sen. Jessica Ramos said.