Mayor Adams didn’t rule out switching parties and becoming a Republican on Friday, quickly sparking backlash over his latest remarks that have Democrats questioning his allegiance and political observers speculating about what he’s up to.
Adams, who was a registered Republican in the late-90s and early 2000s, was asked whether he would consider rejoining the party during a series of TV news hits Friday morning.
“I’m a part of the American party. I love this country,” he said on NY1.
Pressed a few minutes later on PIX11, Adams said: “My focus is the American people and the people of New York City. And those who don’t like it, they would cancel me. And I say, ‘Cancel me.’ I’m for America.”
The mayor has drawn the ire of Democrats on a number of fronts lately, although political observers say he could be reading the pulse of a shifting electorate.
Some Democrats have also speculated Adams’ could be hoping Donald Trump’s election would help him with his legal problems. Trump, once president, could sway Adams’ five-count corruption indictment.
Basil Smikle, a longtime Democratic strategist, said Adams may be trying to harness right-wing energy in the city, where Trump made significant inroads in the 2024 election, as the mayor runs for a second term.
“He believes that the city and the voters are making a rightward shift, and he wants to be part of that wave,” Smikle said.
Trump’s victory may have opened the door for Adams, who has long held moderate-to-conservative views, to be more outspoken on center-right issues, the former executive director of the New York State Democratic Party said.
“What we don’t know is whether that is still a good strategy to win re-election,” Smikle said. “We also don’t know if it helps support the city at a time when there are a lot of leaders and voters that feel that under Trump, the city is going to be worse off than it was before.”
Friday’s comments were the latest to spark backlash among local Democrats.
During the presidential campaign, Adams declined to distance himself from Donald Trump after the president-elect expressed sympathy over Adams’ indictment. He praised Trump’s new efficiency czar Elon Musk and has been more outspoken in support of typically conservative political stances, like getting tough on migrants who commit crimes.
When pressed during the PIX11 appearance, Adams did say that he plans to run for reelection next year as a Democrat: “That is what I’m proposing to do,” he said.
Mayoral challengers quickly jumped on Adams’ Friday comments. Rep. Hakeem Jeffries also declined to back Adams in the Democratic primary on Friday.
“At a time when the Republican Party has never been more out of line with New York values, we need a Mayor who isn’t scared to call himself a Democrat,” State Sen. Zellnor Myrie said in a statement, emphasizing a need to protect reproductive rights, climate measures and voting rights, among other issues Trump has hinted at rolling back.
“Instead of playing footsie with the next President, we need a Mayor with the courage to stand up for our city,” Myrie continued.
City Comptroller Brad Lander sarcastically wrote on X that he has “ruled out switching to the Republican party”; State Sen. Jessica Ramos said that if Adams was choosing to be “honest about being a Republican” then he should just run as one; and former comptroller Scott Stringer argued that Adams’ “legal problems are literally trumping the priorities of New Yorkers.”
