NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� New York City Mayor appears open to switching parties to become a Republican, as he declined to rule out a future change in political allegiances during a pair of interviews Friday that came as he has increasing warmed to President-elect Donald Trump.
The comments from Adams, the top Democrat in one of the country's most liberal cities, riled critics who have grown concerned over the mayor's increasing willingness to throw his support behind Trump and his hardline immigration policies.
Adams, , was a registered Republican in the 1990s and early 2000s but has spent his political career as a Democrat.
In a Friday morning interview with the local cable news station NY1, Adams was asked if he would consider a return to the GOP. The Democrat appeared to leave open the possibility of a switch.
鈥淭he party that鈥檚 the most important for me is the American party,鈥� he said. 鈥淚鈥檓 a part of the American party. I love this country. This is the home of the free, the land of the brave.鈥�
In another interview about a half-hour later on PIX11, Adams said he would run for reelection as a Democrat but still appeared to leave some wiggle room for his future.
鈥淪o no matter what party I鈥檓 on or vote on, I鈥檓 going to push for the American values," he said. "And I think America has told us, stop the squabbling, leaders, and start leading us out of the crisis that we鈥檙e facing.鈥�
Adams won office on a centrist platform and has spent significant time as mayor quarreling with the progressive wing of his party. But his rhetoric in the weeks since Trump's election victory, particularly on immigration, with Adams boosting the president-elect's platform and appearing enthusiastic about the incoming administration.
Rather than restricting cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, as he once promised, Adams recently expressed a willingness to roll back the city鈥檚 so-called sanctuary policies, and he plans to meet with Trump鈥檚 top border official over concerns about what the mayor said was the 鈥渞ising illegal alien crime rate in New York City.鈥�
He has also praised those in Trump鈥檚 orbit, including Elon Musk, who has claimed falsely that Democrats are illegally 鈥渋mporting鈥� migrants to garner votes.
鈥淭his is a racehorse that wanted to run its right pace and we鈥檝e been holding back that racehorse out of fear of being canceled,鈥� Adams said of the country Tuesday. 鈥淎nd now you have a bunch of people who are not afraid of being canceled.鈥�
The shift comes as Adams is trying to fight off an indictment on federal corruption charges while governing the city and gearing up to run for a second term. Adams has pleaded not guilty in his criminal case, in which he has been accused of accepting free or discounted overseas trips and illegal campaign contributions from people looking to gain his influence, including people connected to Turkey or the Turkish government.
Adams鈥� critics have seized on his recent comments about the Trump administration as a move toward self-preservation, accusing the mayor of cozying up to the next president in an effort to secure a pardon in his corruption case.
鈥淓ric Adams continues to sound more like he is auditioning for a job in right-wing media than running for reelection in a Democratic primary,鈥� said Zohran Mamdani, a state assembly member who is challenging against Adams in the mayoral primary. 鈥淓ric Adams is in City Hall because Democratic voters sent him there. To serve his own narrow self-interests, he is clearly prepared to betray them.鈥�
Zellnor Myrie, a state senator who is also challenging Adams in the primary, said 鈥渁t a time when the Republican Party has never been more out of line with New York values, we need a mayor who isn鈥檛 scared to call himself a Democrat.鈥�
鈥淚nstead of playing footsie with the next president, we need a mayor with the courage to stand up for our city,鈥� Myrie wrote on X.
Adams on Friday did distance himself from the Trump administration's potential plans to carry out mass deportations, saying, 鈥淵ou know, I鈥檓 not for mass deportation, but I鈥檓 not for mass saturation.鈥�
Still, the mayor's recent remarks are a major departure from his stance before he took office.
In June of 2021, a few weeks before winning the Democratic mayoral primary, Adams spoke to a room full of immigrant New Yorkers about the challenges facing city residents who are in the country illegally. 鈥淭oo many of our neighbors live in the shadows,鈥� he said at the time, 鈥渟carred by the abusive rhetoric and tactics of the Trump era and fearing a denial of their rights.鈥�
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Izaguirre reported from Albany.
Anthony Izaguirre And Jake Offenhartz, The Associated Press
