Eric Adams was elected mayor of New York as a centrist-sounding Democrat. A black former police officer who was tough on crime, but fit in quite well with the city’s predominantly Democratic politics.
But Adams was also always known for his eccentricities and foibles — scandals over the true extent of his veganism, whether or not he actually lived in New Jersey, and some of the tall tales he told from his past.
But few New Yorkers might have expected the latest twist in the Adams’ story: his steady move to the right, especially in the wake of Donald Trump’s election victory.
In fact, Adams’s increasingly close relationship with Trump has fueled speculation about what exactly the Democratic mayor of a famously liberal city — embroiled in deep legal troubles — might want from America’s soon-to-be Republican president.
Recently, Adams has not rejected his move to the Republican Party, where he served from 1995 to 2002 before becoming a Democrat. “I am part of the American party,” he said. “I love this country.”
Related: ‘Show me the money’: how Eric Adams rose to the top – and fell back down again
Last week alone, Adams stunned observers with the depth of his right-wing stance on one of the election’s most important issues: immigration. By adapting the language of extreme Republicans — who have sown fear about immigrant crime — Adams came out in support of Trump, who is planning a mass deportation of millions of immigrants once he returns to the White House.
“Well, cancel me because I’m going to protect the people of the city,” Adams said when asked if he plans to cooperate with Trump’s plan for federal deportation agents to remove migrants accused of misdemeanor crimes in the city.
The comment came as Adams said he had requested a meeting with Trump’s new “border czar,” Tom Homan. Adams said he wanted to “make it clear that I am not going to war with this administration.”
He added: “I would like to sit with the border czar and hear his thoughts on how we are going to tackle those who harm our citizens. Find out what his plans are, where our common grounds lie. We can work together.”
Adams’ hard line adds a new wrinkle to how Democratic-led “sanctuary cities” like New York, Los Angeles and Denver will adapt to the second Trump administration, and raises the prospect that some top Democratic leaders may actively will support mass deportation.
Adams is already working to roll back the Sanctuary City laws, passed by his predecessor, Bill de Blasio, that ban New York law enforcement — the NYPD and the corrections and probation departments — from cooperating with U.S. immigration – and Customs Enforcement (Ice) agents, unless the cases involve suspected terrorists or serious risks to public safety.
Some moderate Democrats on the city’s generally progressive-leaning City Council support the move, with Councilman Robert Holden calling for a repeal in June, saying, “The sanctuary city laws endanger all New Yorkers, immigrants and long-term residents alike.”
New York Governor Kathy Hochul recently said that while she supports legal immigrants, including asylum seekers, she will work with the Trump administration to remove immigrants who break the law. “Somebody breaks the law, I’ll be the first to call Ice and say, ‘Get them out of here,’” Hochul said.
But some observers look at Adams’ approach to Trump and see that there are other factors at play, besides playing to a segment of the electorate that is tired of Democrats’ traditional softer stances on immigrants.
Adams is facing a federal complaint over alleged fundraising abuses involving Turkey filed by outgoing local U.S. Attorney Damian Williams, a Joe Biden nominee. Adams’ trial is scheduled for this spring, just as his re-election campaign for mayor kicks into high gear.
Trump has nominated Jay Clayton as Manhattan’s top federal prosecutor. Clayton is known for bringing white-collar corruption cases while serving as commissioner of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, but has no experience litigating criminal cases, raising questions about whether Adams is working with Trump in the hope that the complaint will actually are submitted. decreased.
Adams is also now on the same page as Trump when it comes to baseless claims about the political weaponization of the Justice Department. In September, Adams defiantly suggested that prosecutors had gone after him because he criticized Biden’s immigration policies.
“Despite our advocacy, when the federal government did nothing because its broken immigration policies overloaded our shelter system without relief, I placed the people of New York above party and politics,” he said. “I always knew that if I stood my ground before all of you, I would be a target – and a target I became.”
But amid all the new views, there is no doubt that immigration is a thorny political issue.
In recent years, more than 200,000 people have come to New York after entering the United States to seek asylum. The Adams administration has predicted that the cost of housing and aid to New York taxpayers could reach $10 billion by June next year, and Trump made a clear breakthrough in the city in last month’s election, especially among Asian voters and Hispanic voters.
Yet Adams has used a remarkably hard line and nationalistic language that echoes Trump. Last week he floated the idea of deporting migrants accused but not convicted of crimes.
“If you come into this country and this city and you think you’re going to harm innocent New Yorkers and innocent migrants and asylum seekers, this is not the mayor you want to be under,” Adams said last week. “I’m an American. Americans have certain rights. The Constitution is for Americans. I am not someone who sneaked into this country.”
It’s smart for any mayor of New York to have friends in Washington, because the city always has problems
Hank Sheinkopf, Democratic Strategist
That brought resistance from civil rights organizations.
“Everyone living in the United States, regardless of immigration status, has specific unalienable rights under the Constitution, including the right to due process,” the New York Immigration Coalition said.
“Immigrant communities have been key to New York’s success, both past and present. The answer to the ongoing crisis in our city is not to turn our backs on our values, but to ensure fair treatment,” said Andrea Gordillo, a progressive Democratic candidate for City Council.
It is possible that Adams’ recent entry into the new Trump administration is both a selfish move and a pragmatic step consistent with a shift in New York’s political complexion and a recognition of the realities of the next four years of Trump rule .
“He’s trying to curry favor with the Trump administration, and it’s smart for any New York mayor to have friends in Washington because the city always has problems,” said Hank Sheinkopf, a veteran Democratic strategist.
“By playing that card, he also plays to the city’s population who, not least, have moved to the center and away from the left. New Yorkers are angry about basic living conditions here and tired of paying the cost of the country’s problems. He is therefore running for re-election.”
There’s also no doubt that Adams is also dealing with a nasty criminal situation. At least seven top Adams officials have resigned or announced plans to resign as a result of the federal criminal investigation.
“Making it disappear would help Adams’ re-election chances. Whether it is true or not, everything in politics is conspiratorial by nature,” Sheinkopf says. “Any mayor of New York who wants to make an enemy of the White House is crazy. New York mayors need the president no matter who they are.”
Late last week, Adams was even asked if he planned to stay in the Democratic party and join the Republicans. His answer was certainly not a resounding no.
“The party that matters most to me is the American party – I am part of the American party,” he said.
