Mayor Eric Adams returned from an unexpected trip to Florida on Wednesday to mounting speculation that he is on the verge of dropping his long-shot re-election bid as an independent.<\/p>\n
The New York Times reported<\/a> that advisers to President Donald Trump have weighed giving Adams a job in the administration \u2013 along with Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa \u2013 to clear a path for Andrew Cuomo to challenge Democratic front-runner Zohran Mamdani.<\/p>\n Former Gov. David Paterson said senior advisers in Adams\u2019 campaign were becoming increasingly frustrated with a lack of strategy, messaging and direction from the campaign. The team hoped to double down on its outreach to Black voters.<\/p>\n \u201c\u200aThey want to firm up that message in the communities that supported Adams very well in 2021, that we want to do the same thing in 2025,\u201d said Paterson, who is the most prominent figure to have endorsed Adams\u2019 re-election<\/a>. \u201cBut it’s hard to just do it on your own.\u201d<\/p>\n Paterson said the advisers, including former state Sens. Malcolm Smith, John Sampson and Larry Seabrook, planned to gather on Wednesday.<\/p>\n A spokesperson for Adams’ campaign, Todd Shapiro, did not respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n In recent weeks, Adams adamantly denied he\u2019d drop out of the race. But on Wednesday, he was less definitive when asked about the Times report at an event in the Bronx.<\/p>\n \u201c\u200aI am not going into private conversations, and no matter what happens right now, I’m the mayor of the city of New York,\u201d Adams said. During an interview on FOX5 earlier in the day, Adams tried to tamp down speculation that he was considering leaving the race. \u201cWhenever I make a move, I make an announcement.\u201d<\/p>\n He added that he\u2019s received many job offers from the private sector.<\/p>\n \u201c\u200aI’m a CEO of 320,000 employees. People saw what I did, how I handled crises. So I’ve been getting job offers for the last year-and-a-half,\u201d Adams said.<\/p>\n A campaign spokesperson said Adams had been in Florida on a personal trip. But in an interview on PIX11 Wednesday morning, Adams said he\u2019d also met with \u201cpolitical figures.\u201d<\/p>\n Sliwa said no one from the White House has contacted him. He repeated that he is not interested in a job in the Trump administration.<\/p>\n \u201cMy focus is right here in New York,\u201d Sliwa said, \u201cI\u2019m the only candidate on a major party line who can defeat Mamdani, and I\u2019m committed to carrying this fight through to Election Day. The people of New York City deserve a mayor who truly cares.”<\/p>\n