James Ford: And yes, 24 years. It has been a long time. It is a sad milestone, certainly. But I can say there's also a sense of gratefulness here in Lower Manhattan to have passed this many years seeing Lower Manhattan make a major comeback. But yes, the news out of Utah, adding a further element of sadness to this day. And joining us is the mayor of the City of New York, Mayor Eric Adams. Thank you for joining us. We always appreciate you.
We start, you were in the NYPD 24 years ago, a police lieutenant then. Looking back nearly a quarter century, how is this for you, sir?
Mayor Eric Adams: It's, you know, it's a constant reminder. And every year around the 10th of September, I take a walk-through Ground Zero to sort of mentally get prepared for today. The scars remain the same. And sometimes we feel the further you move away from a tragedy that we forget. And we believe that the threats are not still lingering. But in fact, they are. And we have to be constantly vigilant to prevent them.
Ford: And you, as you say, you came down here last night to Ground Zero. You talked about the assassination of Charlie Kirk. If you don't mind, talk a little bit more about your thoughts and what motivated you to speak out about it in a posting on X?
Mayor Adams: Because it's the same hate that drove two planes into the World Trade Center that drove a bullet through the neck of Charlie Kirk. And when you think about that level of hate, when you take the oath to be a law enforcement officer or the mayor, your pursuit is to protect America from foreign and domestic terrorism. That was a terrorist act.
That assassination cut at the heart of what we are as Americans. This hate speech, the radicalization of people, what you're seeing playing out on the streets of our country. If we don't pause for a moment on 9/11 to state that we're better than that as Americans, we're better than that as human beings, then we're going to find ourselves in a dark place.
Ford: And you were in the NYPD 24 years ago, lost 23 colleagues from the department and, since, so many more. And also, you were at the Firefighters Memorial yesterday. Can you talk about your feelings for them here on this milestone?
Mayor Adams: That's so important because when a bullet hits the body of an individual, the physical target may have stopped or the projectile may have stopped. But the emotional one lasts. So, when those buildings collapsed, yes, we lost hundreds and thousands of people. But the emotional scars, you're still seeing people die due to the effects of 9/11. You saw with the naming ceremony that took place at FDNY, the trauma is still moving forward. Even 24 years later, we're seeing the residual impact of that terrorist act.
Ford: And at the ceremony today, you will be there. What thoughts will be on your mind and on your heart, sir?
Mayor Adams: Well, you know, to be able to have served the city as a police officer, a captain, and as the mayor, there's a constant reminder that our role is to keep our city safe. It's to keep our city safe from any form of violence or terrorist act. And we as Americans in general, but specifically as New Yorkers, we can never forget, you know, we can never forget that if we don't turn down the violence, if we don't turn down the hate speech, we're going to put ourselves in a precarious situation. And this is a reminder for us all.
Ford: Mayor Eric Adams of the City of New York, we thank you, sir.
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