Eric Adams' big decision: Trump job or doomed reelection bid

Will Mayor Eric Adams drop out of the mayor’s race? Anyone who's been following New York City politics over the turbulent past year and a half knows that it’s not a new question – but the mayor’s unannounced trip to Florida this week and fellow independent candidate Jim Walden’s departure from the race has it circulating again. Speculation further intensified Wednesday afternoon after The New York Times reported that advisers to President Donald Trump have discussed potentially giving Adams a job and Politico New York reported that the mayor was specifically offered a position at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. 

Embarking on a media circuit Wednesday morning to talk about crime, Adams dodged questions about whether he will go forward with his longshot reelection bid – a distinct shift from his prior outright denials of the possibility. To PIX 11, he said that he still sees a path to victory – but wouldn’t explicitly confirm whether he’s staying in the race until November. “There’s always talk around it,” he told FOX5  when asked about the drop-out rumors. “Whenever I make a move I make an announcement. I’m in this race to win and if anything changes, trust me I’ll be on Channel 5.” Later, at an unrelated press conference in the Bronx, he said “I have a job, I’m running for reelection, and I’m still doing that and I’m looking forward to getting reelected.” 

Just two weeks ago, Adams struck a very different tone. “Hell no,” he said when asked whether he would abandon his reelection bid or step down as mayor after his longtime confidante Ingrid Lewis-Martin was indicted on new charges.

Adams was also coy about whether his one day visit to Florida Tuesday involved him meeting with any Trump administration officials. He repeatedly described the trip as a personal excursion to visit friends, declining to expand on who he met with beyond saying people of both political parties. Adams’ campaign spokesperson Todd Shapiro insisted there was no meeting with the president’s people, noting that Cuomo previously served as HUD secretary. “Although Mayor Adams has been the most pro-housing mayor in New York City’s history, at no time did he ask for – nor was he offered – a job at HUD,” Shapiro said in a statement. “Mayor Adams looks forward to another four years of delivering results for the people of this city. And if the HUD job does open, Andrew Cuomo held that position before and can always continue where he left off.”

Speculation about whether Adams will remain in the race comes as Mamdani’s opponents scramble to find a way to defeat the 33-year-old Democratic socialist. As the Democratic nominee, Mamdani is the clear front-runner, having handily defeated Cuomo in the June primary. Adams, plagued by scandal, with few allies and facing poor polling, opted to run as an independent in the general election instead. His odds have had little if any improvement since then. Recent surveys show him polling in a distant fourth place, trailing Mamdani, Cuomo and Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa. 

Walden’s decision to drop his mayoral bid Tuesday afternoon is unlikely to have a significant impact on the race’s outcome, though he implored the remaining candidates to consider how history will judge them if their “vanity or stubborn ambition” allows Mamdani to soar to victory this November. Walden has previously encouraged the other candidates to maximize their odds by collectively dropping out in a bid to consolidate votes behind whoever is leading in the polls come the end of September. So far, there’s been little commitment to the strategy.

According to the Times reporting, officials within the Trump administration also want to see a narrowed field of candidates to better position Cuomo to take on Mamdani one-on-one. Those talks have reportedly involved finding a place in the administration for Adams and Sliwa – a topic that has intensified in the final stretch before the general election. A spokesperson for Adams’ campaign did not respond to a request for comment about the latest developments. Nor did a spokesperson for Cuomo. Posting to X, Sliwa adamantly denied that he’s been contacted by the White House and said he has no desire to take a job in the Trump administration.

At an “emergency press conference,” Mamdani condemned the news, slamming the motivation behind the Trump administration’s interference in the race – and whatever role Cuomo played in orchestrating it – to subvert the outcome of the Democratic primary. 

“We have not seen a president of this country seek to fundamentally alter the nature of a race – all with the intent of preventing the Democratic nominee from succeeding,” Mamdani said. “I have no issue facing Andrew Cuomo one on one. That’s exactly what he wanted for so many months in the primary and we gave it to him.”

He added that in regards to Adams, he doesn’t believe anyone seeking to represent the city should be taking a job from the Trump administration. “There are many ethical issues with this news,” Mamdani said.