Transcript: Mayor Adams Appears on “PIX on Politics With Dan Mannarino”

June 27, 2025

Dan Mannarino: Mr. Mayor, welcome back to PIX on Politics, good to see you. Big day for you yesterday, the kickoff for the re-election bid on the independent line. Timing, interesting too, it was days after we saw this big upset in the Democratic primary, which you were not in. And Zohran Mamdani winning. 

Let me talk about Zohran Mamdani for a moment, what you thought of his win, and what you said about him, and the way he campaigned.

Mayor Eric Adams: Well, I think it's a combination. Number one, people need to understand, over 2 million Democrats did not vote in the primary. And we all know that the Democratic primary is really a large number of the left-leaning part of the party. So, you still have about 2 million Democrats that did not vote, a million Independents that did not vote, and other lines as well. 

And so I said from the beginning that this is going to be an interesting race. When a sitting mayor is running on an independent line, still as a Democrat, it makes the race go all the way into November.

Mannarino: Let me talk about that for a second, because you've often said to me that you did not leave the Democratic party, that the Democratic party left you, and that's why you were running as an Independent, right? 

But seeing this Mamdani win, what does it say about the Democratic party? Is there this seismic shift in the party, and is it for the better, or is it for the worse?

Mayor Adams: Well, what does it say about the primary, because as I stated, 2 million Democrats did not [vote]. So, the party's not monolithic. You have those who are moderate Democrats, those who are left-leaning Democrats. And Democrats don't stand for socialism. 

This is not a socialist country. I've been to socialist countries, and I see what happens there. And Democrats don't lift up Hamas. We don't think Hamas is a hero. We think it's a terrorist organization that is filled with violence. And so, I think the things that a portion of the party embrace is not with the overwhelming number of the party—

Mannarino: But this was a Democratic primary, so what are you saying? 

Mayor Adams: I'm trying to be as clear as possible.

Mannarino: Yeah, but there was a number of Democrats who voted for him. 

Mayor Adams: Right. If you look at the total number of Democrats in the city, and we know from history that the left-leaning arm of the party, you would get a different view when you go to the general election.

Mannarino: So, Mr. Mamdani expanded the electorate, no doubt about that, when you look at some of the numbers from the primary when you ran four years ago to this number, right? So, he increased the number of voters that came out to vote in a primary. 

You just launched. So, what is your message to folks now? You're running as an Independent, and especially to those Democrats that you're speaking about that may not have voted in this primary. What are you saying, this go-around, about you as an Independent?

Mayor Adams: Well, I think that I'm still a Democrat. I'm running on a line that the process allows me to do. And my message to them is the same message I had in 2021. Public safety is a prerequisite to prosperity. I don't believe in defunding the police. I don't believe in the terminologies he used to describe the police. I don't believe emptying out jails and letting everyone out on the street. I don't believe using social workers to go into dealing with removing guns off the street like we removed 22,000 guns off the street. 

Those philosophies are clearly showing that a person that did four years in the assembly didn't pass one bill. And the things he's calling for, Dan, he could have done as an assemblyman. Mayors don't raise taxes on income taxes. So, his call to raise income taxes on the 1 percent of high-income New Yorkers, he could have done that as an assemblyman. Free buses, I pushed for him to get the buses that he wanted free as a pilot project. He did not follow up to make it happen in Albany.

Mannarino: But you could, as a mayor, work with Albany and work, as you have, to get these legislative wins. He may not have done it as an assemblyman. He's saying he will, as mayor, work with Albany to get it done.

Mayor Adams: And I'm glad you said that, because anyone would tell you that mayors are the creatures of Albany. If you cannot work with your colleagues while you're there to get it done, why do you think you could do it as a mayor? 

I tried to get the expansion of the involuntary removal. Did I get it? Not to the way we wanted. I wanted to do the bail reform, look at how it's impacting our city. Did I get what I needed? Not the way we wanted. So yes, it is possible to get things out of Albany, but when the foundation of what you're going to deliver on, free food, free this, free that, is based on something you don't have the power to do, that's not responsible.

Mannarino: Yeah, and Kathy Hochul, the governor, I spoke to her, and she said flat out that she is not raising taxes. Have you spoken to the governor about your re-election as an Independent?

Mayor Adams: Not at all. We’ve been really focused on what's happening in Iran and what was going to impact our city. That was more important to me. 

And I want to be clear on something. There's nothing more improper than when people are in difficult places, such as affordability. I know what it is to live in poverty, and I know how hard that is, and you're looking for things. And when people promise you something that you can't deliver, that's wrong. And that is what he's doing. He can't deliver what he's promising to people who are in need.

Mannarino: So, you're talking about a lot of party lines running as Independent and Democrats, and I spoke to Curtis Sliwa last night, Republican nominee, who says that he's staying on the ballot, and his quote to me was that, I'm going to be in a pine box and six feet under for me to drop out of the race. 

Do you want the Republican line, and do you believe that Curtis Sliwa was actively looking for a job, say, in the Trump administration?

Mayor Adams: I think there's so many rumors that move around. You know how this thing is. During this race, you're seeing so many rumors moving around. I don't control the Republican party, and he can't–- I cannot get that line anywhere. You know, I cannot. I have to campaign to all the voters in the city.

Mannarino: So, say he gets a job and he's not on the line. You don't want the line?

Mayor Adams: You can't get the line.

Mannarino: You don't want it, if it was there?

Mayor Adams: I can't do a hypothetical. 

Mannarino: I know you can't get it, but do you want it? 

Mayor Adams: No. When I say I can't get it, I'm talking about technically. Not that, you know, okay, if they offer it to you, do you want it? No. It's too late to get the line. So, there's no reason to be dealing with a hypothetical that doesn't exist. I'm running as a Democrat on an Independent line, and I'm going to speak to all voters. 

Now, if you're asking me, do I want conservative, Republican, Democrat, Independent voters, yes, I do. Because when you are dealing with the quality of life of this city, no one is asking you what party you belong to. If you have to try to find an apartment, it doesn't matter if you're a Democrat or Republican. 

I'm going to serve the people of the City of New York. My success in bringing down crime in this city, particularly the last six months, the lowest number of shootings and homicides in recorded history, it benefits everyone, no matter what party they're part of.

Mannarino: You called Mr. Mamdani a snake oil salesman the day after the primary night. 

Mayor Adams: Yes. 

Mannarino: You've been questioned about some of the rhetoric that the president has said over the course, and you've often said, and you've said this to me too, that everyone needs to tone things down. How do you see this campaign playing out from now until November in terms of rhetoric?

Mayor Adams: When I use the term snake oil salesman, that's a definition that all of us, particularly, my generation is familiar with. It’s people who make these false promises. He's making false promises to people who are looking for relief. I'm not making false promises. 

$30 billion back into the pockets of working class, low income New York, paying off medical debt, reducing the cost of childcare, free high speed broadband for NYCHA, reduced cost of metro cards. You see real work to give people real things because again, Dan, I cannot emphasize enough, I know what it's like to live in these conditions. 

And so, when you hear someone giving the people of the city false promises that you know you can't deliver on, and you just said one of them, he's saying that he's going to raise taxes on 1 percent of New Yorkers. What did the governor state who's in charge of that? She says no to that. So, his whole platform of giving away free is wrong. 

This is not a socialist city. I know what a socialist country looks like. Go to Cuba when they give out ration books. And so, he's not rooted in—either he doesn't understand what the role of the mayor is or he's intentionally misleading New Yorkers about rhetoric.

Mannarino: There's been some attacks against Muslim. You just formed this Islamophobia task force and some of your tweets about some things, but, if you read the comments under, them are a bit Islamophobic. So, do you condone those kinds of attacks?

Mayor Adams: Without a doubt? I think it's despicable for anyone to attack Jews based on their beliefs, their religion, their philosophy. That is inappropriate and it should never happen in the city. There's no room for hate here. 

But let's be honest. Let's look at the comments that Mamdani has made, uplifting Hamas, some of his other terminology that's clearly antisemitic. 

Mannarino: He says he's not. He says he embraces everybody.

Mayor Adams: I'm sorry? 

Mannarino: He says he embraces everybody and that he will work—he's reached out to the Jewish community and he will work with them.

Mayor Adams: You have to smile at that. When you have a lifetime of being divisive, a lifetime of antisemitism, a lifetime of lifting up Hamas. Let's understand who Hamas is. It's a murderous entity, not only to Jewish people and Christians, but even a Muslim. And so, two wrongs don't make a right. But he needs to really think about amending and apologizing for what he has done.

Mannarino: You're going to be hit throughout the campaign on your relationship with President Trump. And you often say that you couldn't talk about the case, but now you can. But there's this perception that there was a quid pro quo, even if you say that there wasn't one. 

So how do you, from now until November, change perception? I often talk about perception of crime, right? But what about the perception that you do have a relationship that people don't like about a quid pro quo with President Trump?

Mayor Adams: And I could not speak about the case. And trust me, that was hard to do. But, any smart person will listen to the attorney. The case has been dismissed and it's not coming back. I want to talk about exactly what happened during that time. 

And I promise New Yorkers, listen, as I was sharing the other day, I'm 65 years old. You make bad decisions in life. There were people I trusted that I should not have trusted. I never broke a law, never committed a crime that Joe's charges should have never been brought against me. They were political in nature. 

Now you say, “Eric, well, you know, there are people who have concerns.” Dan, I crisscrossed this city at town halls, seniors adult centers, community meetings. This doesn't come up. What comes up is affordability, public safety, education. I know–

Mannarino: People might say you had four years to change affordability. 

Mayor Adams: And look what we have done, you know.

Mannarino: It’s still the number one issue. 

Mayor Adams: Yes, it is. What's number two? 

Mannarino: Crime. 

Mayor Adams:  Right. So, I'm doing A+ on number two. So, let's look at number one affordability. $30 billion back in the pockets of New Yorkers, build more housing in individual years than in the history of the city in individual years, of dealing with the cost of child care. 

All of these issues, as I can go beyond my scope of my job to deal with affordability, we are doing that. We're making this city a more affordable city.

Mannarino: Got to leave it there. More with Mayor Adams on PIX 11+ after this. But Mayor Adams, great to have you. Thank you. 

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