{"id":464224,"date":"2025-12-22T11:18:13","date_gmt":"2025-12-22T11:18:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/464224\/"},"modified":"2025-12-22T11:18:13","modified_gmt":"2025-12-22T11:18:13","slug":"nyc-mayor-eric-adams-once-called-himself-the-future-of-the-democratic-party-what-went-wrong","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/464224\/","title":{"rendered":"NYC Mayor Eric Adams once called himself the ‘future of the Democratic Party.’ What went wrong?"},"content":{"rendered":"

NEW YORK<\/strong> \u2013 Four years ago, New York City Mayor Eric Adams<\/a> swept into office with swaggering confidence, pledging to lead a government unlike any other in history and declaring himself the \u201cfuture of the Democratic Party.\u201d<\/p>\n

On the first promise, the mayor more than delivered. But as his tumultuous term comes to an end, Adams, 65, finds himself in the political wilderness, his one-time aspirations as a party leader now a distant memory.<\/p>\n

Instead, he has spent his final weeks in power wandering the globe<\/a>, publicly mulling his next private sector job and lashing out at the \u201chaters\u201d and \u201cnaysayers\u201d whom he accuses of overlooking his accomplishments.<\/p>\n

For many of his supporters, the Adams era will be looked back on as a missed opportunity. Only the second Black mayor in city history, he helped steer New York out of the throes of the COVID-19 pandemic, often linking the city\u2019s comeback to his own rise from humble roots in working class Queens.<\/p>\n

At a moment when many Democrats were struggling to address voter concerns about public safety, he drew national attention for a \u201cradically practical\u201d agenda focused on slashing crime and reactivating the economy. <\/p>\n

But while most categories of crime returned to pre-pandemic levels, Adams will likely be remembered for another superlative: He is the only New York City mayor of the modern era to be indicted while in office<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s a disappointment for voters, especially for Black voters, who had high expectations and aspirations,\u201d said Basil Smikle, a political strategist who served as executive director of the state\u2019s Democratic Party. \u201cHe entered with a lot of political capital, and that was squandered, in part because of his own hubris.\u201d<\/p>\n

Equally memorable, perhaps, were the strange subplots along the way: his hatred of rats<\/a> and fear of ghosts<\/a>; the mysteries about his home<\/a>, his diet<\/a>, his childhood<\/a>; and his endless supply of catchphrases<\/a>, gestures<\/a> and head-scratching stories<\/a> that could instantly transform a mundane bureaucratic event into a widely shared meme<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo many mayors want to be filtered, they want to pretend who they are and act like they are perfect,\u201d Adams said during a recent speech at City Hall, a freewheeling affair that ended with the mayor burying a time capsule of his achievements beneath a Manhattan sidewalk. \u201cI am not.\u201d<\/p>\n

Swagger versus seriousness<\/p>\n

Adams took over from Mayor Bill de Blasio in January 2022, amid a COVID-19 spike that was killing hundreds of New Yorkers every day, along with a worrisome uptick in both violent crime and unemployment.<\/p>\n

Adams, a former police captain, Brooklyn borough president and state senator, increased patrols on streets and subways, brought back a controversial anti-crime unit and appointed the department\u2019s first female police commissioner. He also raised eyebrows for installing many of his former police department allies, including some ex-officials with histories of alleged misconduct.<\/p>\n

As he encouraged New Yorkers to return to their pre-pandemic lives, Adams made an effort to lead by example, frequenting private clubs and upscale restaurants in order to \u201ctest the product\u201d and \u201cbring swagger back\u201d to the city, he said.<\/p>\n

But if New Yorkers initially tolerated Adams\u2019 passion for late night partying, there seemed to be a growing sense that the mayor was distracted, or even slacking off, according to Hank Sheinkopf, a longtime Democratic consultant and supporter of Adams.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was a tension between swagger and seriousness,\u201d Sheinkopf said. \u201cNew Yorkers wanted to see more seriousness. They didn\u2019t want to see him out partying at some club they couldn\u2019t afford to go into.\u201d<\/p>\n

It didn\u2019t help that Adams often declined to say who was footing the bills for his meals, his entry into private clubs or his flights out of the city. When reporters staked out his nighttime activities<\/a>, they found that Adams, who long professed to be a vegan, regularly ordered the branzino.<\/p>\n

Asked about his diet, the mayor acknowledged that he ate fish and occasionally \u201cnibbled\u201d on chicken, describing himself, as he often would in the coming years, as \u201cperfectly imperfect.\u201d<\/p>\n

City Hall in crisis <\/p>\n

The corruption investigation into Adams’ campaign, launched quietly in the early stages of his mayoralty, first spilled into public view in the fall of 2023, as federal agents seized the mayor’s phones as he was leaving an event. It loomed for nearly a year, as Adams faced new struggles, including a surge of migrants arriving in the city by bus. <\/p>\n

Then, on Sept. 26, 2024, federal prosecutors brought fraud and bribery charges against Adams<\/a>, accusing him of allowing Turkish officials and other businesspeople to buy his influence with illegal campaign contributions and steep discounts on overseas trips.<\/p>\n

Investigators also seized phones from the mayor’s police commissioner, schools chancellor and multiple deputy mayors. Each denied wrongdoing, but a mass exodus<\/a> of leadership followed, along with questions about the mayor\u2019s ability to govern.<\/p>\n

Adams insisted, without evidence, that he had been politically targeted<\/a> by the Biden administration for his criticism of their immigration policy. But his frequently invoked mantra \u2014 \u201cstay focused, no distractions, and grind\u201d \u2014 seemed to lose potency with each new scandal.<\/p>\n

Among them: a chief adviser indicted by state prosecutors in a separate alleged bribery scheme<\/a> involving a bike lane and minor TV role; another longtime adviser forced to resign after handing a chip bag filled with cash<\/a> to a reporter; and a string of abuse<\/a> and corruption allegations<\/a> within the police department, many of them linked to longtime friends Adams had installed in high-ranking positions.<\/p>\n

Looking back at what went wrong, both supporters and critics of the mayor tend to agree on at least one point: Adams could be loyal to a fault, refusing to distance himself from long-serving allies even after they appeared to cross ethical lines.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was one City Hall made up of dedicated and competent leaders focused on executing his priorities,\u201d said Sheena Wright, Adams\u2019 former first deputy mayor. \u201cThere was another City Hall made up of people who knew the mayor for a long time, and who were allowed to operate outside the norms of government.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018A nuclear bomb\u2019<\/p>\n

Facing a plummeting approval rating and the prospect of years in prison, Adams began aligning himself with President Donald Trump, going to great lengths to avoid criticizing<\/a> the Republican and even leaving open the possibility of switching parties.<\/p>\n

That seemed to work: Weeks after Trump took office, the Justice Department dismissed<\/a> the corruption case, writing in a two-page memo that it had interfered with Adams\u2019 ability to help with the president\u2019s immigration agenda.<\/p>\n

But in the view of Evan Thies, one of Adams\u2019 closest advisers at the time, that was the moment that sealed Adams\u2019 fate as a one-term mayor. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe memo hit like a nuclear bomb,\u201d Thies said.<\/p>\n

The damage worsened a few days later, when Adams appeared on Fox & Friends<\/a> alongside Trump\u2019s border Czar Tom Honan, who threatened to \u201cbe up his butt\u201d if the mayor didn\u2019t comply with Trump\u2019s agenda.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt seemed to confirm the belief that he had traded his duty to New Yorkers for his personal freedom,\u201d Thies recalled. \u201cIt wasn\u2019t true, but that was perception.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adams adamantly denied striking a deal with the Trump administration. He has continued to suggest a broad conspiracy against him, at times blaming bureaucrats in the \u201cdeep state.”<\/p>\n

Even with his case behind him, Adams struggled to build a re-election campaign. Earlier this year, his approval rating sank to a record low. In September, he abandoned his efforts, throwing his support behind former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a one-time rival he\u2019d recently referred to as a \u201csnake and a liar.\u201d<\/p>\n

As of late December, Adams\u2019 plans for life after he leaves office remain uncertain.<\/p>\n

\u201cI did what I had to do, I left everything I had on the ice, and I\u2019m looking forward to the next step of my journey,\u201d the mayor told reporters during a farewell speech at City Hall.<\/p>\n

Then, with a few weeks still left in his term, Adams flew to Mexico.<\/p>\n

Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"NEW YORK \u2013 Four years ago, New York City Mayor Eric Adams swept into office with swaggering confidence,…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":464225,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5122],"tags":[5229,5297,117862,21481,69,90,5289,211486,22084,405,403,5226,5225,5228,5227,80,211484,211485,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-464224","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-andrew-cuomo","10":"tag-basil-smikle","11":"tag-bill-de-blasio","12":"tag-donald-trump","13":"tag-elections","14":"tag-eric-adams","15":"tag-evan-thies","16":"tag-hank-sheinkopf","17":"tag-new-york","18":"tag-new-york-city","19":"tag-newyork","20":"tag-newyorkcity","21":"tag-ny","22":"tag-nyc","23":"tag-politics","24":"tag-sheena-wright","25":"tag-tom-honan","26":"tag-united-states","27":"tag-united-states-of-america","28":"tag-unitedstates","29":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","30":"tag-us","31":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115762948006627830","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/464224","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=464224"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/464224\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/464225"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=464224"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=464224"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=464224"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}