New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D) has reportedly flown down to Florida to meet with President-elect Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago on Friday.
On Thursday, Adams’ office issued a statement confirming the meeting. “Tomorrow, Mayor Adams will sit down with President-elect Trump and discuss New Yorkers’ priorities. The mayor looks forward to having a productive conversation with the incoming president on how we can move our city and country forward,” said the statement from New York City deputy mayor for communications Fabien Levy.
Adams has signaled a possible alliance with Trump in recent weeks, voicing agreement with some of Trump’s immigration-related plans and meeting with incoming border czar Tom Homan. The statement from Levy reiterated Adams’ “willingness” to work with Trump “on behalf of New Yorkers.”
“That partnership with the federal government is critical to New York City’s success,” the statement added.
At this meeting, Adams and Trump are slated to discuss gang-related issues, the New York Post reported. MSNBC indicated that taxpayers likely covered the cost of the trip.
‘Pardon me?’
The meeting comes just days before Trump is to be sworn back into the Oval Office, which means he will once again have the power to levy pardons. Adams may soon be in need of a pardon now that he has been indicted on federal charges related to wire fraud and bribery in connection with alleged favors from the Turkish government.
Trump has previously expressed sympathy for Adams’ situation, claiming that federal agents targeted him for publicly criticizing President Joe Biden’s handling of the immigration crisis.
When asked whether he would consider pardoning Adams, Trump replied in the affirmative. “Yeah, I would. I think that he was treated pretty unfairly,” he said at a press conference last month. Trump also added: “I would have to see it because I don’t know the facts.”
Despite Adams’ legal trouble, his office insisted that Adams and Trump did not discuss a possible pardon at the meeting on Friday.
Still, a couple of Adams’ opponents in the upcoming NYC Democratic mayoral primary have pounced on the meeting, implying that Adams has cozied up to Trump to secure a pardon.
“Pardon me? The Trump agenda is not going to help move our city or the country forward. This pilgrimage is clearly about something else,” state Sen. Zellnor Myrie posted to X.
“Eric Adams should state immediately that he will not seek or accept a pardon from Donald Trump,” said New York City comptroller Brad Lander.
“New Yorkers deserve to know that their Mayor is putting their interests ahead of his own—and whether our tax dollars, or Turkish Airlines, will be financing his trip to Florida.”
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Eric adams, Donald trump, Mar-a-lago, Indictment, Pardon, Immigration crisis, Tom honan, Politics
