Mayor Eric Adams, who is running an independent campaign for reelection, attended a fundraiser for his campaign on Friday in Fort Lauderdale, FL, hosted by right-wing influencers and activists.
MAGA influencer Tony Delgado and entrepreneur Hugo Sanchez hosted the fundraiser, which was attended by members of the Fort Lauderdale Young Republicans and Moms for Liberty, a leading conservative group that opposes LGBTQ+ inclusion in schools. Adams also recorded an hour-long episode of the right-wing podcast PBD Podcast, where he attacked Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani.
The fundraiser with Trump-aligned individuals, first reported by Politico, is the latest sign that Adams, a Democrat who is running a reelection campaign as an independent, is gaining traction with conservatives. Recent polls put Adams as Republicans’ second choice in the November general election.
In a video posted on Sanchez’s social media, Adams thanks Delgado and Sanchez for their support, saying their donations helped keep his campaign afloat.
“I cannot thank you enough,” Adams said. “You kept me on life support, and now I’m off life support, and I’m running around doing what I need to do.”
Delgado, who founded a Spanish-speaking financial literacy group, is a staunch supporter of President Donald Trump and has peddled conspiracy theories about the “Epstein files,” including that they reveal politicians’ supposed role in a massive sex trafficking ring. In a July 10 post, Delgado encouraged his followers to vote for Adams.
“Let’s unite being the ONE guy who can stop NYC from becoming a socialist hellhole,” Delgado wrote. “This isn’t about politics, It’s about common sense and the survival of the greatest city in the world.”
Delgado and Sanchez each already donated the maximum $2,100 to Adams’ campaign in late April and early May, according to data from the NYC Campaign Finance Board.
Adams’ official public schedule was blank for July 11, when he was in Florida, but spokesperson Kayla Mamelak Altus told a local news reporter that the Mayor’s office does not have to advise the public if Adams leaves the state. Mamelak Altus later laughed at criticism on social media and said the campaign paid for the trip, not taxpayers.
The City Charter requires the public advocate or comptroller to assume the duties of the mayor if the mayor is absent from the city, though it does not specify that the temporary transfer of power must be made public.
A spokesperson for the Adams campaign, Todd Shapiro, said the campaign does not comment on fundraising activity but confirmed that the campaign paid for any expenses the city incurred from the trip.
When asked about Adams’ partnership with Republicans in Florida, Shapiro told amNewYork that Adams has support from both parties.
“The mayor is a Democrat running as an independent; he has support from both Democrats and Republicans,” Shapiro said.
The podcast Adams recorded while in Florida was hosted by Patrick Bet-David, a conservative commentator who has become popular, especially among young men. Bet-David has attracted criticism for airing white nationalist and anti-LGBTQ rhetoric, vaccine conspiracy theories, and falsehoods about the 2020 presidential election.
Bet-David’s other recent episodes include attacks on Islam and feminism for harming “Christian values” and hosted guests who called Mamdani a “socialist/communist/jihadist/Islamist,” following a pattern of Islamophobic attacks against Mamdani.
During the episode with Adams, Bet-David told the mayor he was concerned by Mamdani and supported Adams’ reelection campaign.
