{"id":241857,"date":"2025-09-20T16:42:17","date_gmt":"2025-09-20T16:42:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/241857\/"},"modified":"2025-09-20T16:42:17","modified_gmt":"2025-09-20T16:42:17","slug":"qa-nyc-mayor-eric-adams-calls-jews-his-secret-weapon-in-longshot-re-election-bid-dubs-mamdani-a-phony","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/241857\/","title":{"rendered":"Q&A: NYC Mayor Eric Adams calls Jews his secret weapon in longshot re-election bid, dubs Mamdani a phony"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Jewish vote will be NYC Mayor Eric Adams\u2019 secret weapon to become the \u2018Chosen\u2019 candidate and pull off an upset victory in November \u2013 despite a new poll <\/a>indicating otherwise, Hizzoner predicted in an exclusive sit-down this week, excerpted below, with The Post\u2019s Rich Calder in Gracie Mansion.<\/p>\n

During the 20-minute, wide-ranging interview, long-shot Adams said a Marist University poll released Tuesday showing him having just 17% support in the race from Jewish voters is hogwash.<\/p>\n

The embattled mayor said he hasn\u2019t received, doesn\u2019t expect, and doesn\u2019t want help in the race from President Trump. <\/p>\n

NYC Mayor Eric Adams (pictured) has plenty to say during a wide-ranging interview at Gracie Mansion this week with The Post\u2019s Rich Calder \u2014 including predicating that a groundswell of support from Jewish voters will help him score an upset victory in November\u2019s general election. J.C. Rice<\/p>\n

The moderate Democrat boasted about\u00a0how his administration drove down crime <\/a>and helped bring New York out of the pandemic, but admitted to making plenty of mistakes \u2014 including having poor judgment backing key hires that spurred a now-closed federal corruption probe and allegations of the NYPD being run like a \u201ccriminal enterprise.\u201d<\/p>\n

He insisted his rival, socialist frontrunner Zohran Mamdani, is a phony who \u201cmastered the art of saying anything\u201d \u2014 including lies \u2014 to win over voters.<\/p>\n

Q: There\u2019s been reports you are dropping out of the race, which your camp has denied. Do you commit to being in this race and campaigning until the end, and is there anything that would change it?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A:<\/strong> That\u2019s my desire, and I\u2019ve tried to be as\u00a0communicative as possible. I was just talking about the assassination [of conservative pundit Charlie Kirk] that took place a few days ago.\u00a0Tomorrow\u2019s not a promise to us, you know. I can only tell you my desire. My desire right\u00a0now is\u00a0not to see our city go in the wrong direction and to continue this run. And I\u2019ve stated it over and over again. People say, well, you know, you were offered the job as ambassador [to Saudi Arabia]. That\u2019s just not true. I was not offered to go to HUD. That\u2019s not true. I didn\u2019t go to Yankee Stadium to meet with Donald Trump. That\u2019s not true. So, no matter what I say, it seems like\u00a0in the universe\u00a0people have made up their opinions.\u00a0So all I can say is my desire, as we sit here today,\u00a0is to run\u00a0until November 4th.<\/p>\n

Q: Polls . . . have you ranked fourth. Why do you feel that\u2019s the case? What can you do over the next six weeks to change that?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A:<\/strong> Polls change often \u2026 I think about Mark Green and Michael Bloomberg. I think Mark was up 14 points [in the 2001 mayoral race, but he lost to Bloomberg]. I think about my [2021 race], being in third place. I think about where Andrew Cuomo was [in the Democratic primary]; 87% of the polymarketers had him winning the race \u2026\u00a0So these polls change.<\/p>\n

I was at an event the other day. I had a fundraiser, and the person said, \u2018They told me you are taking the job in Saudi Arabia.\u2019 All of this noise out there has really eroded the facts. Now, if we just focus on the policies, people won\u2019t have that assumption. So I think how I\u2019ve been covered, which is really unique in comparison to all the other candidates, I think it has really become a sixth opponent. You know, I\u2019m not only running against the people who are running. I\u2019m running against this other noise that\u2019s out there.<\/p>\n

Q: Can you clarify? I covered Bill de Blasio\u2019s time as NYC mayor. The Post and other media outlets were critical of him.<\/strong><\/p>\n

A:<\/strong> Yeah, [they\u2019re] supposed to be.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Q: So what do you think is different between you and de Blasio?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A:<\/strong> I think it\u2019s totally different.\u00a0When I\u2019m out in the streets . . . \u2018Eric, you\u2019re leaving to go to Saudi Arabia.\u2019 The public is reading that. The public is not going in depth. When they hear over and over again, it\u2019s a foregone conclusion that Eric is no longer in the race, that\u2019s going to impact them. That\u2019s No. 1. Number 2: I never had a chance to get my message out. \u2026The CFB [Campaign Finance Board] is controlling who the voters can vote for and whose message they\u2019re going to hear. That\u2019s just not how the system should work \u2026 Four million in [anticipated public matching funds] is lost. \u2026That\u2019s money that\u2019s used to get your message out. That\u2019s how you win races \u2014 when people can get your message out. My message has never been told.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adams, a retired NYPD captain, boasted that the NYPD under his administration has been tough on crime. Paul Martinka<\/p>\n

Q: Why do you think you\u2019re polling behind Andrew Cuomo and Zohran Mamdani with Jewish voters <\/a>right now? That is supposed to be one of your stronger bases.<\/strong><\/p>\n

A:<\/strong> Let\u2019s be clear on something: polls normally go to \u2018likely voters.\u2019\u00a0I think this is going to be the highest election [turnout] in probably the history of the city. I think we could get up to 2 million people to come out to vote, and many of them are going to be Jewish voters. I hear from some of my Yeshivas that are now telling their parents when you drop your child off to register for school, you have to fill out this voter registration form. And so these are new voters; these are first-time voters, and I think there\u2019s a population of voters that no one is polling \u2014 like they missed . . . those young voters that came out [for Mamdani] in the primary. And so I believe I\u2019m going to get the overwhelming number of Jewish votes. They supported me as senator, [Brooklyn] borough president, and mayor. I don\u2019t think that\u2019s going to change.<\/p>\n

Adams said combatting gun violence has been a top priority for him as mayor. James Messerschmidt<\/p>\n

Q: Is there anything that as mayor that you can do [to make Jews feel safer]?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A:<\/strong> Yeah, we have. We were very clear on many levels, but one specifically with the Jewish community.\u00a0. . . We put in place a\u00a0Mayor\u2019s Office to [Combat]\u00a0Antisemitism. We focused on ridding our city of hate, what we\u2019re doing over at the [NYPD] hate crimes unit, and then we send the large national message.\u00a0You know, for someone to state that a national, international leader comes to our country, and you\u2019re gonna arrest them [referring to Mamdani saying he will direct the NYPD, if mayor, to arrest Israel Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if he visits NYC]? First of all, you don\u2019t understand the laws. Diplomatic immunity is in place. You don\u2019t have the authority to do so, but the symbol you\u2019re sending out; you\u2019re sending out that hate \u2026 He didn\u2019t say that to the leader of Sudan, where you\u2019re seeing real wars, or Yemen. No, he targeted a group \u2013 [after] being unwilling to say it was wrong to say\u00a0<\/strong>\u2018Globalize the Intifada.\u2019\u00a0<\/strong>You know, this stuff starts to add up, and it\u2019s no longer coded messages. It\u2019s clear messages. And if you are a Jewish resident, you have to be alarmed by some of these positions.<\/p>\n

Adams has insisted a bombshell lawsuit filed in July by ex-NYPD Commissioner Thomas Donlon (right) accusing Adams of having him run the Police Department like a criminal enterprise is both baseless and politically motivated. Paul Martinka<\/p>\n

Q: There\u2019s been multiple corruption allegations swirling around your office the past three years \u2013 including the since-dropped federal indictment involving your campaign, and former Police Commissioner Thomas Donlan claiming you had him run the NYPD like a criminal enterprise. What is your message to\u00a0voters who have\u00a0serious concerns about this?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A: <\/strong>Listen, we make mistakes. I say it over and over again: 65 years of living; you make a ton of mistakes in 65 years (laughing). There are things you want to do differently. There\u2019s things that you would probably say, \u2018maybe I should have brought on this person to handle the job\u2019. That\u2019s it.\u00a0All I can tell voters is, \u2018Listen, sorry for any inconvenience, sorry for the distractions, but I never stopped working for voters.\u2019\u00a0We preserved, built, and zoned our city for more housing than 12 years of Bloomberg, eight years of de Blasio combined, in three-and-a-half years. What we\u2019ve done in crime . . . safest big city in America. What we\u2019ve done for low-income New Yorkers \u2014 we put $30 billion back in the pockets of New Yorkers. People are talking about affordability. We made it happen from no income tax for low-income New Yorkers paying off medical debt; all of these things that we have done. And so what I want New Yorkers to do, what I\u2019ve never had an opportunity to do is tell New Yorkers, \u2018Yes, here\u2019s mistakes I made, but look at what I\u2019ve done for our city.\u2019 I got us out of COVID; 237,000 migrants in asylum seekers, overproliferation of guns. We took almost 24,000 off our streets.\u00a0I delivered for New Yorkers, in spite of all the things that were happening around me, and in fact, I never broke a law. I never did anything that violated my oath of office.\u00a0And anyone who read that indictment, even scholars, walked away saying, \u2018What the heck is this?\u2019 A sitting mayor of New York? You\u2019re going to indict him and put him in jail for 33 years for leg room and calling the Fire Department?<\/p>\n

Adams said socialist mayoral frontrunner Zohran Mamdani (center) is a phony who \u201cmastered the art of saying anything\u201d \u2013 including lying \u2014 to win over voters Adams hopes will see the light before it\u2019s too late. Stephen Yang for the New York Post<\/p>\n

Q: What do you consider other big successes of your administration?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A:<\/strong> Universal after-school program, so important. First time ever \u2014 100,000 summer youth jobs was crucial. High speed broadband in NYCHA for free, so they could do telemedicine and remote learning. Paying the college tuition for foster care children. As I say to build more housing \u2026 More jobs in New York in the history of the city. More small businesses are operating in the history of the city. When you start to look at how we turned around the economy, brought down crime, cleaned the city, even my favorite topic: rats, rat complaints are down \u2026\u00a0This city is not coming back. The city is back.<\/p>\n

Q: What do you consider the biggest failures?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A:<\/strong> Ah, man. Any shooting is shooting too much. You know, I think that we want to continue to drive down crime, and really, probably controlling some of the noise that has been released from the office, you know? New Yorkers don\u2019t need distraction when they\u2019re moving forward and their lives.<\/p>\n

Q: Since winning the primary, Mamdani has backtracked on previous lefty stances he took, including supporting the Defund the Police movement. Do you think . . . New Yorkers should believe him when he claims he\u2019ll back off such stances?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A:<\/strong>\u00a0He has mastered the art of saying anything that needs to be said to be \u2026 elected.\u00a0That is what he is doing \u2026 First of all, academically, he\u2019s a smart person. So\u00a0when you know you can\u2019t do the things you\u2019re promising, then you\u2019re hurting people who are going to be looking for that relief.\u00a0He knows he can\u2019t decrease rent in NYCHA, in Mitchell-Lama [housing], in any building where your subsidies are based on your income. He knows that. He knows he can\u2019t give people free buses because of the price tag of $3 billion. He knows that.\u00a0He knows that it\u2019s wrong to remove 3,000 people from Rikers Island, the most dangerous people we have in our city, without it harming the communities they\u2019re going to go back into and prey on. Like, he knows this, but he\u2019s doing it anyway, because it\u2019s about he just wants to get elected.<\/p>\n

Q: President Trump recently said he\u2019s resigned to the idea that Mamdani will be New York City\u2019s next mayor? How does that make you feel?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A:<\/strong> It doesn\u2019t make me feel at all. When you go back, during the [Democratic] primary \u2026how many people were resigned to Cuomo being mayor when he was 36 points up in the poll? It was a foregone conclusion \u2026 Everyone felt we were just going through the motions. That\u2019s just not how life is.<\/p>\n

Q: The time we\u00a0<\/strong>spoke in July you said<\/strong>\u00a0the president had not offered to help your campaign. Since then, have you spoken?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A:<\/strong>\u00a0No.<\/p>\n

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Q: Are you expecting any type of assistance from the president or his camp? Are you upset you haven\u2019t gotten any yet?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A: <\/strong>I am not upset at all. It is my job to get re-elected. It is not the obligation or the responsibility of the president. It\u2019s my job. I\u00a0have to convince voters, so there\u2019s no anger or upset at all.<\/p>\n

Q: Do you think Trump or the Republican Party in general is quietly hoping Mamdani wins so it can use mistakes they believe he\u2019ll make as mayor as a rallying cry for Republicans to win future elections?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A:<\/strong>\u00a0I don\u2019t think so.\u00a0New York is too important to the country. The way goes New York goes America, and so I don\u2019t think they want our country to go backwards.<\/p>\n

Q: Did you think Gov. Hochul\u2019s endorsement of Mamdani will lead to the White House punishing New York in any way?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A: <\/strong>I would hope not, and I don\u2019t think so. Again, New York is important to the country.<\/p>\n

Q: On the ballot, you\u2019ve listed your name as an\u00a0independent under the \u201cSafe&Affordable\/EndAntiSemitism\u201d line.\u00a0That\u2019s a lot of words. Any concern it confuses voters?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A: <\/strong>No (laughing).<\/p>\n

Q: If you were not seeking re-election and went to the polls and saw Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa, Mamdani and Cuomo on the mayoral ballot, who would you vote for?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A:<\/strong>\u00a0I would write in Eric Adams (laughing).<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to finish the job, but New Yorkers will make the final determination. But this has been a great, great ride. Think about it,\u201d said Adams. J.C. Rice<\/p>\n

Q: Let\u2019s go . . . beyond elections. You kept the Bronx casino plan alive with a key veto in July. Assuming existing racinos win two of the three downstate casino bids as many assume, do you think the Bronx site is the most viable site downstate, or are there others you prefer?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A:<\/strong>\u00a0I think all of them should be considered. I did not want to take the Bronx out of play. That was wrong. If they would have done that to the Manhattan site, or any other site, the Queens site or the Brooklyn site, I would have done the same thing. It\u2019s wrong to allow one council person to take what\u2019s going to impact that entire borough.<\/p>\n

Q: Nine months later, any regrets about congestion pricing?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A:<\/strong>\u00a0I haven\u2019t got a report of all the numbers.\u00a0I still say that we should look at some waivers from some groups of New Yorkers, but we haven\u2019t looked at the numbers yet.<\/p>\n

Q: There\u2019s a new City Council bill introduced by James Gennaro (D-Queens) to ban adding fluoride to the city\u2019s water. The city would then supply fluoride supplements to residents who ask. What do you think of that idea?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A:<\/strong> It\u2019s been a longtime a debate around fluoride. I don\u2019t have enough medical understanding of the impact, if we do, we don\u2019t.\u00a0I always felt fluoride was needed, and I would go with the medical experts over at the [NYC Health Department].<\/p>\n

Adams said he hasn\u2019t received, and doesn\u2019t expect, help in the race from President Donald Trump. J.C. Rice<\/p>\n

Q: Would you say this mayor\u2019s race is the biggest fight of your political life?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A:<\/strong> I\u2019d say no. I had some tough battles, you know, in politics, and I don\u2019t define my life with a profession, political life, because I\u2019m fortunate. I\u2019m the mayor.\u00a0Everyone that\u2019s running for mayor wants to be mayor. I am the mayor. I already won (laughing). I already won. Right now, this is all gravy, what happens next. I want to finish the job, but New Yorkers will make the final determination. But this has been a great, great ride. (laughing) Think about it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Jewish vote will be NYC Mayor Eric Adams\u2019 secret weapon to become the \u2018Chosen\u2019 candidate and pull…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":241858,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5122],"tags":[5229,12648,4219,108553,69,5289,87929,94845,1149,129111,5248,405,403,5226,5225,5228,5227,5341,7207,80,45891,67,586,132,5230,68,1154,2969,26320,5301],"class_list":{"0":"post-241857","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-antisemitism","10":"tag-crime","11":"tag-cuny","12":"tag-donald-trump","13":"tag-eric-adams","14":"tag-eric-adams-indictment","15":"tag-gracie-mansion","16":"tag-interviews","17":"tag-jewish-museum","18":"tag-metro","19":"tag-new-york","20":"tag-new-york-city","21":"tag-newyork","22":"tag-newyorkcity","23":"tag-ny","24":"tag-nyc","25":"tag-nyc-mayoral-election-2025","26":"tag-police","27":"tag-politics","28":"tag-radicalism","29":"tag-united-states","30":"tag-united-states-of-america","31":"tag-unitedstates","32":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","33":"tag-us","34":"tag-us-news","35":"tag-usa","36":"tag-voters","37":"tag-zohran-mamdani"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115237627193660435","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/241857","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=241857"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/241857\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/241858"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=241857"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=241857"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=241857"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}