NYC Mayor Eric Adams Running for Reelection ‘No Matter What’

New York City Mayor Eric Adams, a Democrat, talks about fighting crime in New York City and his reaction to Trump deploying National Guard troops to Washington, DC. Adams also talks about the number of scandals plaguing his administration and the NYC mayoral race, saying he has no plans to drop out. “Yes, I’m staying in, no matter what,” he told Bloomberg's Myles Miller. Adams is running as an independent.

Last week, Winnie Greco, a longtime adviser, reportedly handed a red envelope stuffed with cash inside a bag of potato chips to a reporter at The City. The damaging news story came as seven people, including Adams’ former top aide Ingrid Lewis-Martin, were indicted by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg on bribery and corruption charges.

The scandals are compounding a steep decline in support for Adams, who dropped out of the Democratic primary to run as an independent after he was indicted last year on corruption charges. The charges were later dropped by the Trump administration, sparking criticism that the mayor was beholden to the Republican president.

In multiple polls conducted since the June primary, Adams is in fourth place in a five-person field, behind the Democratic nominee, Zohran Mamdani, a democratic socialist; former Governor Andrew Cuomo, who is also running as an independent; and Republican Curtis Sliwa. In one survey released this week Adams was polling at just 5%.

“The only poll that matters is on Election Day,” he said in the interview.

Adams also pushed back against President Donald Trump’s plan to send National Guard troops to the biggest US city, warning that federal intrusion would undermine local authority at a time when residents need stability.

“Our communications with the federal government is: We got this,” he said.

Trump has threatened to expand Guard deployments beyond Washington, DC, with Chicago and New York under review even as crime rates have been falling. The president has framed the move as necessary to restore order, citing crime, immigration and what he described as “failed Democratic leadership.”

Trump on Monday signed an executive order directing the US Justice Department to identify jurisdictions that have “substantially eliminated” cash bail, with those governments facing possible cuts in federal funding. Trump called cashless bail “a gift to criminals,” saying it “puts dangerous people back on the street while victims suffer.”

Adams, 64, a former police captain and longtime critic of the state’s bail reform, said using bail appropriately will improve public safety.

“I’ve been clear: I don’t believe if someone steals an apple that we should hold them in jail because they can’t afford to get out,” he said.

But, he added, “If you are possessing an illegal weapon and you commit one of the seven major crime categories in our city, you are repeatedly an offender — we need to look at the criminal justice system that allows you to continue to go back and repeat the crime.”

In 2019, former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed legislation ending cash bail for most misdemeanors and nonviolent felonies. The overhaul followed years of criticism from criminal justice advocates, who said the system punished poor defendants unable to pay while wealthier ones walked free.

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