NEW YORK (AP) — New York City’s Democratic mayor, who faces federal bribery charges, is defending his private meeting with President-elect Donald Trump as the Republican prepares to retake the White House on Monday.
Mayor Eric Adams on Saturday brushed off questions that his criminal case — or the possibility of a presidential pardon if he is convicted — came up during the Friday sit-down near Trump’s Florida estate, saying the case is something his legal team is handling.
“I made this clear a few days earlier that I was seeking to sit down and talk to the president about the issues concerning the city infrastructure, the migrant asylum-seeker issues, the settlement of the crisis in the Middle East,” he said.
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“I’m the mayor of the biggest city in America,” Adams added, following remarks about the city’s preparations for a weekend snowstorm. “I’m supposed to speak with the president, like I spoke with President Biden.”
Adams issued a statement Friday night in which he stated the two “did not discuss my legal case” but instead focused on topics such as bringing manufacturing jobs back to the city and the Gaza ceasefire deal.
Trump has criticized the case against Adams and said he is open to giving the mayor, who had been a registered Republican in the 1990s, a pardon.
Adams is scheduled to go on trial in April on charges that he accepted luxury travel perks and illegal campaign contributions from foreign nationals in exchange for political favors, including helping the Turkish officials resolve city approvals for a diplomatic building in Manhattan.
Adams stressed Saturday that he does not intend to be “warring” with the Trump administration on immigration and other critical issues.
“Donald Trump received the popular vote. Donald Trump received the electoral vote,” he said. “America has communicated in a very loud and clear voice that we need to do something about our borders. America has communicated about how we need to build our economy and make sure jobs stay here. They have communicated around affordability.”
He also declined to say what role if any police and other city agencies would have as the Trump administration is expected to begin large-scale deportations, including immigration enforcement raids targeting the Chicago area as soon as Tuesday.
“I’m not gonna keep doing the same questions over and over again about the cooperation of city agencies,” Adams said. “The law is the law. Next question.”
The Brooklyn Democrat and former police captain also took jabs his own party and the outgoing Biden administration, which he has criticized over its response to the migrant surge in recent years.
“The party that’s in office took $6.9 billion out of our city” he said, referring to the amount of money his administration says it has spent to care for the roughly 250,000 asylum seekers who have arrived in the city since the spring of 2022. “That went away from our children, our families, our streets, our security.”
Adams said his face-to-face with Trump was about “ensuring that this city gets what it deserves,” an appeal he believes will be heard given the incoming president’s New York City roots.
“I’m looking forward to the next four years of having a president that loves the city like I love this city,” he said. “We’re gonna do what’s needed to move the city forward for everyday New Yorkers.”
