Public Advocate Jumaane Williams joined NY1’s “The Rush Hour” Wednesday to weigh in on Mayor Eric Adams’ ongoing relationship with President Trump.
“I think he’s happy Donald Trump won and is happy with his policies and probably doesn’t want to say that expressly and probably he might’ve figured out that this is a better way for him personally,” Williams said.
In the last few days alone, Adams has attended Trump’s inauguration and refused to criticize any of his controversial executive orders, especially those on immigration.
“There absolutely is a point that if you are the mayor, you have to meet with the president and find a way to work with him. As the mayor of New York City, you also have to make sure you’re making a way to protect New Yorkers from the worst policies that could be put in place,” Williams said.
Adams sparked further criticism following his nearly hour-long interview with Tucker Carlson Tuesday that included criticizing his own party.
“People often say well you don’t sound like a Democrat. You seemed to have left the party. No, the party left me and left working-class people,” Adams said in the interview.
“We have a Republican mayor disguising himself as a Democrat,” Councilwoman Diana Ayala said.
Ayala, who endorsed Adams in his first run for mayor, said she’s broken with his policies since he’s taken office.
“I endorsed him because I believed in his candidacy and he proved me wrong. I think that his policies are really harsh on some of our most vulnerable New Yorkers,” she said.
One area Ayala said she agreed with Adams on was a lack of help from the federal government with the migrant crisis.
“As the mayor, he has a right to voice his frustration. The federal government should have definitely been more supportive. This is not a New York issue, this is a national issue, and he is absolutely in his right to have expected that we would’ve been compensated financially,” she said.
Republican officials weren’t as critical of Adams’ recent comments.
“He sees the same poll numbers that we all do: open borders and sanctuary city policies and the policies that prevent the police from prosecuting criminals are only supported by a local loud minority of voters,” City Councilman Joe Borelli, a Republican from Staten Island, said.
Adams faces a crowded group of challengers in the Democratic primary in June. He seemed confident about his chance of winning a second term on Wednesday in a separate radio interview.
“I have to go out and show what I’ve done in this city in spite of all the intentions to give the impression that the second mayor of color didn’t turn the city around during difficult times,” Adams said on GMGT’s The Reset Talk Show.