New York City Mayor Eric Adams broke his silence Friday to reaffirm that he’s staying in the 2025 mayoral race, rejecting rumors of a potential deal to step aside and taking direct aim at both former Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Democratic nominee Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani, who recently stunned the political establishment by winning the Democratic primary.
“I want to be clear with you,” Adams said in a fiery press conference. “Andrew Cuomo is a snake and a liar. I am in this race, and I’m the only one that can beat Mamdani.”
Running as an independent after losing the Democratic primary in July, Adams cast himself as the last line of defense against what he called a radical socialist takeover of the city. The mayor also accused Cuomo of orchestrating backroom political maneuvers to push him out of the race in order to consolidate support against Mamdani, who has a growing base in the city’s progressive enclaves.
Adams: Cuomo Has a “Career of Pushing Black Candidates Out”
Adams didn’t hold back in his assessment of Cuomo’s alleged behind-the-scenes machinations.
“He’s spent his career pushing black candidates out of races,” Adams charged.
The mayor’s sharp words came after The New York Times reported that Trump administration officials had discussed possibly offering Adams — and Republican Curtis Sliwa — positions in federal government as a way to clear the path for Cuomo to challenge Mamdani head-to-head in November’s general election.
The Trump team has not officially confirmed any such talks, and Adams adamantly rejected the idea of stepping aside.
Mamdani and the Rise of NYC Socialism
Mamdani, a 33-year-old state assemblyman from Queens, shocked many by defeating Cuomo in the Democratic primary, despite his openly socialist platform, which includes “social housing” via community land trusts to convert private properties into communal housing, city-run grocery stores, and opposition to police involvement in domestic violence calls, which has drawn ire from law enforcement and survivors’ advocacy groups.
“To go further toward the Vienna model, we’ll have to go beyond the market,” Mamdani said in a resurfaced 2021 video. “We can establish community land trusts to gradually buy up housing on the private market and convert it to community ownership.”
His critics say Mamdani’s vision would cripple private property rights, undermine law enforcement, and accelerate the exodus of businesses and families from New York City.
Adams Paints a Stark Contrast
Adams, the former NYPD captain and self-described “pragmatic progressive,” warned that Mamdani’s policies would send the city backward.
“This is a city that I inherited in crisis,” Adams said, referencing the post-COVID era marked by surging crime, economic instability, and public transit fears. “Where crime was out of control, COVID, no one wanted to be on our subway system. We watched what happened in housing. The reason people are having these conversations is because I make the city safe, I committed myself and dedicated myself to a city that I love, and I’m going to continue to do that.”
Adams has made public safety and urban stability the core of his political identity. He’s betting that the city’s moderate majority — including disillusioned Democrats, independents, and business leaders — will reject Mamdani’s far-left platform and see him as the only candidate with a credible record of governing.
The General Election Field
As it stands now, the November ballot will likely include, Democratic Socialist Zohran Mamdani as the Democratic nominee, both former governor Andrew Cuomo and incumbent mayor Eric Adams running as Independent, and founder of the Guardian Angels Curtis Sliwa running as the Republican nominee.
The split race could become one of the most ideologically charged elections in modern New York City history, with socialism taking center stage.
What Comes Next
Adams’ campaign is reportedly working to build a coalition of moderates, working-class New Yorkers, and minority voters who may feel alienated by Mamdani’s platform and disillusioned with Cuomo’s political comeback.
It will easily be the most closely watched mayoral race in the country, with consequences that will reverberate across the country and many interpreting it as a referendum on socialism.
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Seijah Drake was born in Boston, MA, where she developed a penchant for writing early on and a passion for politics in college. After college she worked briefly for a conservative media in New York before relocating to the Greater D.C. Area to pursue a career in political marketing. She now resides in the free state of Florida.
