Mayor Eric Adams defends skipping MLK events in NYC to attend Trump inauguration in D.C.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams addresses the media on Tuesday at City Hall. Credit: Newsday / Alejandra Villa Loarca
Mayor Eric Adams defended his last-minute trip on Monday to attend President Donald Trump’s inauguration in Washington, D.C., and skip Martin Luther King Jr. Day events in New York City.
"My life is the life that Dr. King was talking about when he says, he had a dream, I’m living that dream — I’m living that dream — and my desire to be in Washington to make sure I continue to move forward on that dream," Adams said at his weekly news conference at City Hall on Tuesday.
Adams, a Democrat, set off after 3 a.m. on Monday to Washington because someone on Trump’s team extended an abrupt invitation around midnight, his spokespeople have said.
Adams — who is under federal indictment on corruption charges that he traded municipal favors for luxury vacations and campaign contributions from foreign sources — has been cozying up to Trump since the charges were unveiled. Trump has said he would consider a pardon.
Since September, when the indictment was unsealed, Adams has refused to disagree publicly with Trump. On Tuesday, he said he would do so only in private, with the president himself.
Asked whether he disagreed with Trump pardoning nearly all those involved in the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol, or with Trump ending birthright citizenship, or exiting the Paris climate accord, Adams said: "If I do disagree, I will communicate with him directly on them. I don’t want to be part of what feeds the anxiety of going back and forth in this public discourse that we’re seeing."
It’s a change from when Joe Biden was president, and Adams routinely voiced disagreements publicly of Biden.
Last week, Adams flew to Florida to meet with Trump. Adams had been invited to the inauguration by several people, including Steve Witkoff, Trump's Mideast envoy, said Adams spokesman Fabien Levy. Levy, who said he didn't know whether the one who extended the late night invitation was Witkoff or someone else, promised he'd find out but did not respond to a follow-up text message.
Adams said he draws inspiration from King, particularly when King described how he could turn only to God when his life and his family’s were threatened.
"That’s what it’s been like for me in this last year. God has become real for me," Adams said. "This was a challenging year for me, these last months."
Hours after the news conference, an interview aired of Adams by Tucker Carlson, a man about whom Adams had said on social media in 2021: "I don’t want or need the support of Tucker Carlson, or anyone else who perpetuates racist, anti-immigrant propaganda."
Mayor Eric Adams defended his last-minute trip on Monday to attend President Donald Trump’s inauguration in Washington, D.C., and skip Martin Luther King Jr. Day events in New York City.
"My life is the life that Dr. King was talking about when he says, he had a dream, I’m living that dream — I’m living that dream — and my desire to be in Washington to make sure I continue to move forward on that dream," Adams said at his weekly news conference at City Hall on Tuesday.
Adams, a Democrat, set off after 3 a.m. on Monday to Washington because someone on Trump’s team extended an abrupt invitation around midnight, his spokespeople have said.
Adams — who is under federal indictment on corruption charges that he traded municipal favors for luxury vacations and campaign contributions from foreign sources — has been cozying up to Trump since the charges were unveiled. Trump has said he would consider a pardon.
Since September, when the indictment was unsealed, Adams has refused to disagree publicly with Trump. On Tuesday, he said he would do so only in private, with the president himself.
Asked whether he disagreed with Trump pardoning nearly all those involved in the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol, or with Trump ending birthright citizenship, or exiting the Paris climate accord, Adams said: "If I do disagree, I will communicate with him directly on them. I don’t want to be part of what feeds the anxiety of going back and forth in this public discourse that we’re seeing."
It’s a change from when Joe Biden was president, and Adams routinely voiced disagreements publicly of Biden.
Adams attends the inauguration on Monday. Credit: POOL/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock/Al Drago
Last week, Adams flew to Florida to meet with Trump. Adams had been invited to the inauguration by several people, including Steve Witkoff, Trump's Mideast envoy, said Adams spokesman Fabien Levy. Levy, who said he didn't know whether the one who extended the late night invitation was Witkoff or someone else, promised he'd find out but did not respond to a follow-up text message.
Adams said he draws inspiration from King, particularly when King described how he could turn only to God when his life and his family’s were threatened.
"That’s what it’s been like for me in this last year. God has become real for me," Adams said. "This was a challenging year for me, these last months."
Hours after the news conference, an interview aired of Adams by Tucker Carlson, a man about whom Adams had said on social media in 2021: "I don’t want or need the support of Tucker Carlson, or anyone else who perpetuates racist, anti-immigrant propaganda."
Matthew Chayes, a Newsday reporter since 2007, covers New York City.
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