Trump administration exploring jobs for Eric Adams to leave NYC mayor's race, sources say
Sources tell CBS News New York's Marcia Kramer that President Trump is getting more involved in the New York City mayor's race.
According to sources, the Trump administration is pursuing two strategies to get Mayor Eric Adams to leave the race. One is White House officials are looking at possible government positions to offer Adams, and the other is business leaders in New York are said to be looking into possible positions for him in New York City, sources said.
The talks also reportedly involve getting Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa to call it quits, sources said, as part of an attempt to set up a one-on-one match between former Governor Andrew Cuomo and frontrunner Zohran Mamdani, a Democratic socialist.
One source told Kramer, "The president doesn't want a socialist running the city."
"I am angry," Mamdani says
Mamdani, the Democratic nominee and current frontrunner in the polls, held what he called an "emergency press conference" Wednesday afternoon to respond to what he called "meddling in New York City's mayoral election."
"Today we have learned what New Yorkers have long suspected - that Andrew Cuomo is Donald Trump's choice to be the next mayor of this city," Mamdani said. "This is, however, about an affront to our democracy, an affront to what makes so many of us proud to be Americans - that we choose our own leaders, not that they get to pick themselves. Not that they get to be picked by the president of the United States."
Mamdani said the possible White House intervention makes him angry.
"I am angry because so often we think of this solely in terms of dynamics of politics. The reason so many New Yorkers are fed up with politics as they know it is because of news like this - backroom deals, corrupt agreements. All of which serves to increase the sense of disaffection and despair as it pertains to how people feel about politics across this country," Mamdani said.
Mamdani said he remains confident he will win the race in November, even if it is a one-on-one match against Cuomo. He pointed out he beat him by double digits in the Democratic primary.
Adams, Sliwa campaigns respond
Adams responded to the reports Wednesday.
"To say, would you take a job in the administration or would I take it somewhere else, that's hypothetical," he said. "I'm running for office, and I'm going to finish doing that. I got work to do. I got more ribbons to cut before I finish up this term."
He says the reports are rumors.
"All that's hypothetical. For the last year and a half, last year and a half, people saw what I've done in the city, and they saw my resiliency. I have been getting calls from private industries, from boards, from educational institutions. I have been getting offers for the last year and a half," Adams said.
"Mayor Adams has made it clear that he will not respond to every rumor that comes up. He will remain focused, not be distracted, and grind for New Yorkers. He has had no discussions with, nor has he met with, President Donald Trump regarding the mayoral race," said Adams campaign spokesperson Todd Shapiro. "The mayor is fully committed to winning this election, with millions of New Yorkers preparing to cast their votes. His record is clear: crime is down, jobs are up, and he has consistently stood up for working families. Mayor Adams is focused on building on that progress and earning four more years to continue delivering for the people of New York."
"Under Mayor Adams' leadership, New York City has made a historic comeback from the COVID-19 pandemic — with our economy booming back, jobs surging, and crime plummeting. Mayor Adams is a lifelong New Yorker who has dedicated his entire career to this city, and he intends to continue that work for another four years as mayor," Adams' press secretary Kayla Mamelak Altus said.
Sliwa rejected the idea that he would leave the race to help pave the way for Cuomo to be in a head-to-head match against Mamdani.
"I will never drop out. I am the Republican Party candidate. I'm a major party candidate. I am a law-and-order candidate," Sliwa said. "Zohran Mamdani is Bill de Blasio on steroids, and Eric Adams and Andrew Cuomo, they're Mamdani-lite."
He added, "The White House has not contacted me, and I'm not interested in a job with the White House. My focus is right here in New York. I'm the only candidate on a major party line who can defeat Mamdani, and I'm committed to carrying this fight through to Election Day. The people of New York City deserve a mayor who truly cares."
A spokesperson from Cuomo's campaign said the former governor would not be commenting.
Recent poll shows Cuomo could win in a one-on-one match
Word of the Trump administration's efforts to get Adams to leave the race comes a day after independent candidate Jim Walden suspended his longshot campaign, and asked additional candidates in the race to do the same in order to set up a one-on-one challenge against Mamdani.
A recent poll by Tulchin Research found that, in a head-to-head matchup between Cuomo and Mamdani, Cuomo would beat Mamdani 52%-41%. Cuomo is running as a third party candidate after losing to Mamdani in the Democratic primary.
If, however, Cuomo, Adams, Sliwa and Mamdani all remained in the race, Mamdani would win with 42%, followed by Cuomo with 26%, Sliwa with 17%, and incumbent Mayor Eric Adams with 9%, according to the same poll.
Political consultant O'Brien Murray calls these reports a third rail for the Cuomo campaign, who so far as not said a word about the president's alleged machinations.
"It's a double-edged sword because the balancing act of the closer Cuomo were to ever appear to be to Trump, will those Democrats that he may have go to Mamdani or not show up?" Murray said.
Even if any more candidates were to pull out of the race, at this point, all of their names will still appear on the ballot regardless.
