Is Mayor Eric Adams preparing to exit the New York City mayor’s race?
Rumors are swirling that Hizzoner is looking to abandon his long-shot reelection bid as pressure mounts on candidates opposed to Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani to consolidate behind the best-positioned contender and halt his likely ascent to City Hall.
Adding fuel to the fire is a Wednesday afternoon New York Times report that advisers to Republican President Donald Trump are discussing giving Adams a job in the federal administration to clear the field for former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who is polling second to Mamdani. They have reportedly weighed doing the same for GOP mayoral nominee Curtis Sliwa.
The New York Post, meanwhile, also reported Wednesday that Adams and the Trump White House are in talks over a potential job. The paper reported that Adams’ team is pushing him to take the lifeline but that he is not totally onboard.
Later Wednesday afternoon, Politico reported that Trump has offered Adams a post at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Additionally, the outlet reported that Adams met with Trump’s team when he was in Florida on Monday.
The mayor has had a friendly relationship with Trump during the eight months of the president’s second term, repeatedly refusing to criticize him and experessing an eagerness to work together on issues like immigration. Trump’s Justice Department helped bail Adams out of legal trouble by successfully getting a federal judge dismiss his corruption indictment earlier this year.
Adams rep says ‘no meeting’ with Trump yet
Adams’ campaign spokesperson Todd Shapiro, in a statement, said the mayor has “not met” with Trump and claimed he is staying in the race. Shapiro, however, did not answer whether Adams has discussed the matter with anyone in Trump’s orbit.
Furthermore, Shapiro said “at no time did he ask for—nor was he offered—a job at HUD.”
The mayor called the possibility of his taking a job with the Trump administration as “a hypothetical” when reporters asked him about it during an unrelated Wednesday afternoon news conference.
“To say, ‘Would you take a job in the administration, or would I take it somewhere else?’ That’s hypothetical.” he said. “I’m running for office, and I’m going to finish doing that.”
The fresh wave of chatter follows independent attorney Jim Walden ending his mayoral bid Tuesday afternoon and urging other low-polling candidates to do the same. It also follows Adams quiet trip to Florida, where he said he met with unnamed “political figures” on the same day.
“I met with several political figures in Florida while I was there from various parts, including the mayor from the Miami administration,” Adams said on Pix11 on Wednesday.
However, Shapiro insisted Adams traveled to Miami to be with friends for his 65th birthday, which was on Monday, and that he was not looking for future employment opportunities. He also contended Adams did not meet with the mayor of Miami.
Adams, a Democrat running as an independent, is now the lowest-polling candidate in the race. He has consistently registered in fourth place behind Sliwa in most recent surveys.
Cuomo, who is also running an independent campaign, appears to be Mamdani’s most formidable challenger, as he is consistently polling in second place.
As for Sliwa, the Republican candidate said the White House had not contacted him, and that he’s not interested in working for Trump.
“My focus is right here in New York. I’m the only candidate on a major party line who can defeat Mamdani, and I’m committed to carrying this fight through to Election Day,” Sliwa said. “The people of New York City deserve a mayor who truly cares.”
Denials from Adams and his supporters
Adams, for his part, said during a series of TV and radio interviews on Wednesday morning that he is staying in the race. But, at the same time, he did not deny the rumors as forcefully as he had in the past.
“Whenever I make a move, I’ll make an announcement,” Adams said on Fox5 on Sept. 3. “I’m in this race to win.”
When amNewYork asked via text whether the mayor was about to drop out of the race, Adams’ campaign chair, Frank Carone, simply replied “no.”
Former Gov. David Paterson, Adams’ most prominent support in the general election, told amNewYork that he has not “heard anything that would appear to be accurate.”
But Paterson speculated that the rumors have started to bubble up partially because there has been “a lull” in the mayor’s campaigning over the past couple of days, which goes against Adams’ vow that he would campaign in earnest after Labor Day.
“I think that’s where the rumors come from, that the campaign, he and his supporters said, ‘just watch us, right after Labor Day, we’re gonna start hitting it,'” Paterson said. “And other than going to the West Indian Day Parade, nothing like that happened.”
The former governor said the last few times he and the mayor spoke in recent weeks, it seemed like Adams
Still, the mayor’s answer stands in sharp contrast to the far firmer, “hell no,” he gave to the same question two weeks ago, following his former top aide, Ingrid Lewis-Martin, getting slapped with four new corruption indictments.
The rumors that Adams is looking to exit the race came into public view with an Aug. 27 column by storied New York Post gossip writer Cindy Adams.
In her piece, Cindy Adams relays rumors that the mayor may be willing to end his run if he is offered a cushy job that allows him to continue enjoying some of the benefits he has enjoyed as mayor, such as money, TV appearances, and good tables at restaurants.
