New York
CNN
—
Eric Adams has united Democrats in New York City. From across the boroughs and otherwise warring ideological factions, there is widespread agreement that the mayor has little to no chance of winning the Democratic primary in June — and that he shouldn’t even try.
Many of them don’t want to wait that long, calling for Adams to resign or be removed from office immediately, as the number of people quitting the United States attorney’s office in New York mounts and faith in the mayor’s ability to operate independently from President Donald Trump has vanished after the Justice Department called for prosecutors to dismiss the corruption case against Adams.
And it’s likely about to get worse for the mayor, as the Rev. Al Sharpton, a key powerbroker who said last week the city “clearly crossed the Rubicon,” is set to convene the city’s Black leadership to decide next steps, while former Gov. Andrew Cuomo is seemingly on the verge of launching his long-expected challenge.
Even in a city where frustration over the massive influx of migrants and quality-of-life issues runs high, contributing to last November’s best showing for a Republican in a presidential election in years, Adams is out on a limb unlike any other mayor in New York’s history.
It’s an intense swirl: The interim United States attorney claimed in her resignation letter that Adams’ lawyers offered what amounted to a quid pro quo for cooperation in Trump’s immigration agenda, which a lawyer for Adams has denied. Adams himself chuckled along in a morning appearance on the president’s favorite TV channel, Fox News, as Trump border czar Tom Homan dangled a threat of being “up his butt” if the mayor didn’t follow through on his immigration commitments.
Adams struggled to pivot back to his core message: Immigration enforcement will be focused on dangerous criminals and purported gang members, and the shockwaves were so much that the mayor issued an unusual statement Friday insisting he “never offered — nor did anyone offer on my behalf — any trade of my authority as your mayor for an end to my case.”
“I cannot see a scenario where this mayor can continue to govern in this city, it’s just untenable,” New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, who is first in the line of succession, told CNN.
Williams, who is not a close ally of Adams, said he was being careful with his words, weighing the seriousness and “painful situation” of calling for the removal or resignation of the duly elected mayor of America’s biggest city and the second Black man to hold the office.
US Rep. Ritchie Torres, who represents the Bronx, told CNN the situation is akin to “a Vichy Democrat allowing one of the bluest cities in America to be occupied by a far-right administration,” saying Adams has been rendered ineffectual to the point of being “a zombie mayor.”
Former Gov. David Paterson, an Adams friend who endorsed him four years ago, told CNN that he just saw the mayor on Thursday, but said as conflicted as he feels, Democratic voters in the city like himself “would certainly not be as comfortable as they were in 2021 when they voted for him.”
A united front against Adams was on display outside of City Hall on a frigid Friday morning as a coalition of advocacy organizations, lawmakers and party leaders gathered to call for his resignation or for Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul to use her powers to remove Adams from office.
Ana Maria Archila, co-director of the Working Families Party, told CNN the group’s concerns that Adams would use his legal trouble to negotiate against the interest of New Yorkers had materialized.
“I think the tide has turned so much that the people’s ability to trust his sound decision making has almost completely eroded,” Archila said.
With the primary only four months away, the mayor’s opponents have seized on the opportunity created by Adams’ starring role in Trump’s shake-up of the Department of Justice.
Opponents of the mayor say the Justice Department memo to dismiss the charges against Adams, his move to allow Immigration and Customs Enforcement back on Rikers Island and his willingness to assign NYPD officers to help on federal task forces focused on immigration action are all signs he will ignore city law as long as it benefits him and pleases Trump.
State Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani, who is running against Adams, told CNN the mayor’s actions allow Trump to “make an example out of New York City,” and show that the biggest city in the country and the president’s hometown is no longer willing to fight against his policies. The result, Mamdani charged, is a mayor who is “a walking emergency.”
Brad Lander, the city’s chief financial watchdog and another mayoral candidate, also had his moment in the spotlight last week after an Elon Musk directive resulted in the clawback of $80 million in Congress-allocated funds from the city’s bank account.
“Democrats who are corrupt should face consequences, just like I think Republicans who are corrupt should face consequences,” Lander said. “There is no constituency in the Democratic Party for someone who is serving as an agent of Donald Trump rather than a protector of New Yorkers in City Hall.”
Scott Stringer, the former city comptroller who ran unsuccessfully against Adams in 2021 and is seeking another shot at leading the city, questioned whether the mayor should continue his pursuit of the Democratic nomination, a move he described as “an absurdity” given Adams’ cooperation with the Trump administration.
Multiple Democratic members of Congress did not answer when asked directly by CNN whether they believe Adams still has a place in their party. Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, the always cautious House Democratic leader who remains an influential voice in city politics well beyond his Brooklyn congressional district, said questions about the mayor’s allegiance are “legitimately held concerns.”
And tiny cracks have already begun to emerge among some of the city’s Black clergy leaders. The Rev. Johnnie M. Green Jr. issued a statement on behalf of a handful of pastors calling for the mayor’s resignation.
“Mayor Adams has been irreparably compromised and can no longer be trusted to speak up, speak out, and fight for the Black and brown communities across this city who need him most,” he said.
One person standing by Adams: former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, who a few days ago called the charges against the mayor flimsy and said his opinion remains unchanged.
Asked whether Adams should continue as mayor and whether he has a future in the Democratic Party, de Blasio wrote in a text to CNN, “Yes and yes.”
The governor of New York has the statutory power to remove the mayor of New York City. Hochul declined to use that authority when some called on her to after the Adams corruption charges first came down last year. In a recent appearance on MSNBC, Hochul appeared to leave the door open to the possibility, saying she was “processing” the situation and “reflecting” before taking action.
Hochul’s comments came after Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who represents parts of Queens and the Bronx, posted on social media that Adams “must be removed.”
Hochul’s decision is not just about Adams’ political future. The governor is up for reelection herself next year, and opposition is already mounting. Removing Adams could put her crosswise with voters she had been counting on, and leaving him in place could alienate other constituencies she will undoubtedly need.
New York state Sen. Mike Gianaris, the deputy majority leader, told CNN he doesn’t think Hochul has the luxury of time.
“She has said she’s considering her options. I don’t blame her for being deliberate, because it’s not ethical to just snap her fingers. There’s due process and all that, but we don’t want this to drag on for months either, so hopefully she’ll reach a decision swiftly.” Gianaris said.
Torres, a major Hochul critic who has been publicly signaling a primary challenge, told CNN “the governor has no choice but to remove him” since the mayor is “irreparably compromised.”
The process for removal is legally complicated and could take months, and there is no modern precedent — the last governor to start the process was Franklin Roosevelt in 1932, and that mayor resigned before it concluded. Hochul, one person who has spoken with her told CNN, has been having many conversations with key city power players about potential political and legal fallout as she considers what to do.
At least for now, another potential gubernatorial challenger to Hochul is offering suggestions.
“I think the first step is to call for resignation — that is the most important way to proceed at this moment,” Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado told CNN. “I want to be clear (Adams’) guilt or his innocence is not the question. The question is: Is he in a position to serve the best interests of the city?”
Several candidates for mayor called on Hochul to remove Adams months ago. They told CNN the situation now demands another look.
“The power of removal is an extraordinary one,” said Zellnor Myrie, a state senator running for the job. “It’s important before she exercises that power that she be thoughtful about it, but New Yorkers are fed up. Enough is enough.”
A scattered field, with Andrew Cuomo looming
Adams had partly been banking on the fact that the field of opponents declared against him is not well known, and largely viewed as weak — though Cuomo, who resigned as governor amid sexual misconduct allegations in 2021, has been looming as an expected candidate for months.
Now the former governor seems on the brink of an announcement. On Saturday, he posted a letter from Carl McCall, the former state comptroller and onetime political rival, encouraging him to jump into the race.
“With this knowledge, experience, and track record of proven leadership at this critical juncture in our city’s history, I firmly believe Andrew is the person best suited to be the next Mayor of New York City,” McCall wrote.
Although McCall’s letter did not mention Adams by name, the message was clear — McCall was blessing Cuomo to move ahead and challenge the city’s second Black mayor.
The letter might signal one of the worst chapters in Cuomo’s political history is now closed. The year was 2002 and a young, ambitious Cuomo — fresh off a stint as secretary of Housing and Urban Development in the Clinton administration — entered the race for governor never having held elected office before. He launched a primary challenge against McCall, who Black leaders were hoping would make history as the first Black governor.
The “Carl McCall debacle,” as it is known in the city’s political circles, ended in humiliation for Cuomo, who has called it one of the worst things to happen to him.
The letter followed another campaign tea leaf — Cuomo posted a video of himself on X wishing a crowd of mostly Black seniors a happy Valentine’s Day. It also had the swelling music and a pitch about what New York needs to stand for that would have been easily mistaken for a campaign commercial.
A spokesperson for Cuomo read but did not respond to texts from CNN asking for the former governor’s comment on whether he thought Adams should continue running for reelection or seek the Democratic nomination.
The already declared candidates are using the Adams developments as more fodder against Cuomo too. “Leaders of the past like Andrew Cuomo have said nothing,” said Myrie, while Stringer called them “the two twins of chaos.”
For Adams, not running as a Democrat would be uphill. The last person who won a mayoral race as a Republican in New York City was Mike Bloomberg 20 years ago — and he spent $85 million of his own money to win a second term. He ditched the party affiliation for a third run in 2009 and poured more than $100 million into that race, earning a narrow victory.
More focus on Trump and Adams in a race already underway
Though Adams has not held many public campaign events or appeared at forums with other candidates, he did make a last-minute trip to attend Trump’s inauguration in January, recorded an interview with right-wing broadcaster Tucker Carlson at Gracie Mansion saying he didn’t leave the Democratic Party but “the party left me,” and even sat for another joint interview with Trump’s border czar for the online show hosted by Dr. Phil McGraw, who has also become a celebrity booster of the president.
As the June primary nears, the race has been slowly creaking to life. Only next week do candidates begin collecting signatures from voters to qualify for spots on the ballot, and most political attention has been swamped by last year’s presidential election and the early days of Trump’s new term.
Also complicating any political calculation: This will be the second citywide primary to use ranked-choice voting, meaning Adams can’t count on a plurality to get renominated, and to win would likely need to be appealing enough to be a second or third choice to enough voters supporting candidates who have condemned Adams.
Whatever happens to Adams, the rest of the field agrees these last few days have fundamentally changed the race. They call the mayor a distraction from the issues they would like to be talking about. But now they see him as not just an opponent, but a warning. And for them, convincing New Yorkers of their own mettle against the president has increased in importance.
“Standing up to Trump and Musk has become a critical issue in this race,” Lander said.
