Gov. Hochul, longtime pal the Rev. Al Sharpton and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries were among the political figures who praised Mayor Adams’ mayoral tenure as he announced Sunday he would be ending his reelection campaign.
“I’ve been proud to work with Mayor Adams to make New York City safer, stronger and more affordable,” Hochul said in a statement. “He leaves New York City better than he inherited it, and that will always be central to his legacy as mayor.”
President Trump did not immediately comment on the mayor’s decision to drop out, and talks between the two for a cushy landing spot at the end of Adams’ mayoral term have reportedly broken down in recent days. But billionaire Bill Ackman, who has backed former Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the race, celebrated the mayor’s decision on social media.
“Thank you [Eric Adams] for your service for our city and for stepping aside when the time was right!” Ackman wrote on X. “[Curtis Sliwa], you should follow Eric’s lead for the good of NYC.”
Trump, Ackman and others wanted Adams out of the race to increase Cuomo’s chances of defeating front-runner Zohran Mamdani, who won the Democratic primary. Mamdani, Cuomo and Sliwa all celebrated Adams’ departure as good news for their candidacies.
Because Mamdani is a democratic socialist, mainstream Democrats, including Jeffries, have hesitated to endorse him. Hochul endorsed him two weeks ago.
“I will publicly weigh in with respect to the remaining candidates in the mayor’s race well before the start of early voting,” Jeffries said. “It is clear that meaningful progress has been made in several important areas during the term of Mayor Adams. Thank you for your service to our city.”
Sliwa, who won the Republican primary, has refused to drop out of the race despite similar prodding. Even Trump dismissed his fellow Republican’s chances in the race, though Hudson Valley Rep. Mike Lawler, also a Republican, argued Sliwa was the best candidate and seemed to suggest Cuomo should follow Adams out of the race.
“Eric Adams did the right thing for the city. It’s now time for others to do the same. We must defeat [Zohran Mamdani] in November,” Lawler wrote on X. “I’m proud to support [Curtis Sliwa] and encourage everyone to do so.”
Average New Yorkers were not as quick to praise the outgoing mayor.
James Bowman, 30, of Brooklyn, said he was happy and unsurprised to see Adams abandon his reelection campaign.
“In retrospect, he wasn’t a good person, and I think we’re going to be in good hands now that he dropped out,” Bowman said. “To be honest, I think [Mamdani and Cuomo are] both actually really good candidates. We had Cuomo before, so it’s a comfortability. As New Yorkers and Americans, we’re OK with comfortability and we are scared of change.”
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