Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani is one step closer to becoming New York City’s next mayor, but current Mayor Eric Adams believes voters won’t be fooled.
“He’s a snake oil salesman,” Adams said on “Fox & Friends” Wednesday. “He would say and do anything to get elected.”
Adams, who is seeking a second term, is not running on the Democratic ticket this time. After a federal corruption investigation against him was dropped, Adams announced he would run as an independent.
Adams argued that the city needs leadership that isn’t tied to the extremes of either political party.
“You had one candidate that was running away from his record. You had another candidate with no record. And you have Eric Adams with a record,” he said. “I delivered for this city, and we’re not going backwards.”
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Mamdani is a 33-year-old state assembly member from Queens, and if elected he would become the city’s first Muslim mayor. He was able to pull ahead of former Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the primary with strong support from progressive and younger voters.
While Mamdani has not yet officially won since all votes haven’t been tallied, and he hasn’t yet passed the 50% threshold needed to call it, Cuomo trailed by a wide margin and has conceded.
However, an aide for the former governor said Cuomo is still considering a third-party or independent run, something Adams called a mistake.
“Andrew, at this time, should realize that the time has moved on,” Adams said. “He just did not bring the energy of wanting to be mayor.”
Mamdani has been a vocal critic of President Donald Trump and reiterated that during his victory speech. His proposals for New York City include eliminating public transit fares, offering free municipal housing and childcare, and opposing ICE operations within the city.
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Adams argued those promises are unrealistic and potentially misleading.
“He wants to raise taxes on 1% of New Yorkers, high-income earners. As the mayor, you don’t have the authority to do that,” Adams said. “You know who has the authority do that? An assemblyman, which he is.”
Despite the changing dynamics of the race, Adams says he’s not deterred and plans to continue fighting for reelection.
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“I’m looking forward to being on the campaign trail and showing New Yorkers we can’t go backwards,” he said. “New York is never surrender or quit. I’m never going to quit for the city that I love.”
