Amid reports of a potential Trump administration role, NYC Mayor Adams insists he is staying in the race
Published in News & Features
NEW YORK — New York City Mayor Eric Adams said Friday he plans to remain in the NYC mayoral election despite widespread reports he may be considering ending his long-shot reelection campaign in order to become a U.S. ambassador in President Donald Trump’s administration.
Earlier, he had said he would “listen if called to serve our country,” touching off widespread speculation he was considering dropping out.
But at a Gracie Mansion news conference Adams blasted his opponents and underscored his commitment to staying in the race.
“Andrew Cuomo is a snake and a liar,” Adams said.
“I am in this race, and I’m the only one that can beat Mamdani.”
Trump, who has spoken out sharply against Democratic mayoral frontrunner Zohran Mamdani, is reportedly looking at doling out an ambassadorship in the Middle East to Adams, with Saudi Arabia among the countries in consideration, sources told The New York Daily News.
The potential ambassadorship offer, first reported by The New York Times, would come with an agreement for Adams to suspend his campaign in order to help clear the mayoral field for a head-to-head competition between Mamdani and ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who’s polling as the biggest threat to the Democratic nominee’s election. Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa is also in the race and has said he won’t drop out under any circumstance.
Addressing the revelations about the potential ambassadorship, Adams had said in a statement provided by his campaign Friday morning: “While I will always listen if called to serve our country, no formal offers have been made.”
“I am still running for reelection, and my full focus is on the safety and quality of life of every New Yorker,” his statement added.
Sources told the Daily News there’s a meeting in the works for next week, potentially as early as Monday, between Adams and Trump administration officials to discuss a potential job offer. The sources, who cautioned that nothing is set in stone, said the hope is for Trump himself to attend the sit-down with the mayor.
Adams at the Gracie Mansion news conference said that is not the case.
Per the Times, White House special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff has helped orchestrate conversations around a potential ambassador post and sat down with the mayor in Florida earlier this week. The Daily News previously reported Susie Wiles, Trump’s White House chief of staff, has also been in the loop on efforts to get an administration post for Adams.
Adams, whose polling numbers are consistently in the single digits, is facing a push to step out of the race to allow Cuomo to face off against Mamdani. Adams and Cuomo are running on independent lines.
“I don’t think you can win unless you have one on one, because somehow he’s gotten a little bit of a lead,” President Trump said on Thursday, referring to Mamdani.
Trump has repeatedly incorrectly called Mamdani a “communist” and said Thursday he does not “like to see a communist become mayor.”
“I would like to see two people drop out and have it be one on one,” the president added. “I think that’s a race that could be won.”
Adams gained a globe-trotting reputation — and came under harsh scrutiny, including in the form of a federal corruption indictment — for his frequent trips abroad and relationship cultivation with foreign dignitaries.
The mayor’s charges were dropped at the behest of Trump’s Department of Justice. Trump appointees in the department wrote they needed the mayor to be free of his case in order to aide in the president’s hard-line immigration agenda.
Ambassadorships, which are subject to Senate confirmation, would give Adams an extended network in the Middle East.
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