NYC Mayor Eric Adams says Democratic Party 'left' him as he embraces 'common sense' ideas

Although New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced he's running for re-election as an independent, the incumbent told Fox News the Democratic Party "left" him. 

During an interview on "My View with Lara Trump" airing Saturday, Adams explained he was focused on "common sense" ideas and fighting for what "everyday New Yorkers want."

"People say, well, you know you left the Democratic Party — you know, the party left me," Adams said. "I wanna talk about what working-class people believe, what they're feeling, and they're afraid, and we can't continue to be so philosophical and intellectual that we're talking over the heads of people who are afraid."

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One of those "common sense" issues Adams is "in alignment" with New Yorkers on is immigration.

New York City was one of many sanctuary cities that bore the brunt of the surge in illegal immigration under the Biden administration. Adams has taken heat for his handling of the crisis, but he was also a critic of the previous administration's immigration policies. 

As of February, there were "fewer than 45,000 migrants in the city’s care, down from a high of 69,000 in January of 2024," according to Adams' office. New York City taxpayers have forked out potentially billions of dollars to pay for housing for more than 232,000 who have arrived in New York City since the spring of 2022.  

"That should not have been our problem, and it was, and it was extremely difficult to deal with it, but we did, and it's going to have a long-term impact on our city," Adams warned. 

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Adams recently signed an executive order to allow Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to return to its Rikers Island prison. The move, encouraged by the Trump administration, is facing legal action from the Democrat-controlled city council of New York City.

The mayor defended ICE's return to Rikers during his interview with Fox News host Lara Trump.

"I also respect the law, but areas where we can go after dangerous gang members that are incarcerated and the danger that they are producing on Rikers Island can also spill into our community. I'm not apologizing for that, and I'm not going to ever relinquish my authority to keep New Yorkers safe," he said, adding that the far-Left's narrative around ICE is one of the party's "big mistakes."

Adams expressed his support for the Trump administration's approach to immigration and explained his willingness to work with the GOP executive is grounded in his "respect" for the office and his goal to "produce" results for New Yorkers.

"What we must do is what is happening, I believe, under this [Trump] administration, we're securing our borders so cities don't have to deal with a federal problem that we're seeing in many of our major cities," Adams said. 

"I respect the office. There's a president called President Trump. I'm going to work with that president to produce for the people of our city because I respect the office."

To catch the rest of Adams' interview, tune in to "My View with Lara Trump" on Saturday, April 19, at 9 p.m. E.T.

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Fox News Digital's Greg Norman, Adam Sabes, Michael Dorgan and Peter Pinedo contributed to this report.