Adams says he’s ‘here to work with’ Trump
New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D) told Tucker Carlson that he’s “here to work with” President Trump following a meeting between the two politicians days before Trump’s inauguration.
Adams told Carlson, the political commentator and former Fox News host, in a roughly hour-long interview that aired on Tuesday, that his conversation with Trump that he had on Friday went “very well” and that the president loves New York City.
“We talked about how do we do things to work together to improve this city, and as I’ve told everyone, I’m not here to be warring with the president. I’m here to work with the president, and everyone should do that,” he said.
Adams noted that other Democratic officials have said the same about Trump, pointing to Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) saying she had a “great meeting” with him and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) having said she is willing to work with Trump where possible.
But Adams’s comments come as speculation has mounted about closer ties between him and Trump amid the criminal case against the sitting mayor. Adams has been charged with wire fraud and bribery, among other charges, on allegations that he sought and accepted bribes from foreign businesspeople and a Turkish government official.
Adams has denied the charges and pleaded not guilty.
But Adams, like Trump, has also argued that the charges were politically motivated. In the interview with Carlson, he alleged that he was indicted because he regularly complained to the Biden administration about the state of immigration with an influx of migrants into New York City.
Trump has also slammed the charges that he faced as politically motivated as a political opponent.
As president-elect, Trump said in December that he would consider a pardon for Adams, arguing that the mayor has been “treated pretty unfairly.” Before that, he expressed empathy for Adams’s situation and called him “honest.”
Adams hasn’t directly said if he would accept a pardon from Trump over the charges he faces, though he has said it’s “not on my agenda.”
Other Democrats have expressed some openness to working with Trump, but Adams particularly has spoken about it and avoided sharp criticism of the now-president during the campaign that his fellow Democrats invoked.
“I think there’s some great opportunities, and we need to find out those areas of agreement,” Adams told Carlson.