Photo: Barry Williams/New York Daily News/Tribune News Service via Getty Images

Last week, former President Donald Trump rubbed shoulders with prominent New Yorkers and political figures at the Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation’s annual dinner in Manhattan, an event typically attended by presidential candidates ahead of Presidential Day. the election. While delivering his comical remarks, Trump made a point of mentioning another politician he shared the stage with that evening: Eric Adams.

Trump joked about the mayor’s looming legal troubles, joking that he had never met a vegan who loved Turkey so much. But he also seemed to sympathize with Adams, suggesting they were both targeted by the Biden administration. “I’d like to make fun of Eric, but I’ll be nice. I just want to be kind because I know what it’s like to be persecuted by the Justice Department for speaking out against open borders,” Trump said. “We were persecuted, Eric. I was persecuted, and so were you, Eric.

On Tuesday, a reporter asked Adams if he would disavow Trump’s comments about him, but the mayor declined to broach the subject. “New Yorkers need to hear the issues, and I’m just not going to take back comments made on either side,” he said during his weekly press briefing.

This wasn’t the first time Trump showed some support for Adams. Trump made similar comments in late September following the announcement that federal prosecutors had indicted the mayor on corruption charges, implying that the indictments stemmed from Adams’ past criticism of the White House over his handling of the migrant crisis. “About a year ago, I heard about how illegal immigrants are harming our city and that the federal government should pay us and we shouldn’t have to accept them,” Trump told reporters in Trump Tower. “I said, ‘You know what? He will be charged within a year. And I was absolutely right because that’s what we have.

Adams has maintained his innocence since the accusations against him came to light. Although the mayor has not yet gone as far as Trump in alleging a grudge on the part of the Biden administration, Adams previously suggested he was targeted in a pre-recorded statement to New Yorkers released before the release of the indictment. “I always knew if I stood up for y’all, I would be a target – and I became a target,” he said in the clip.

The mayor has often emphasized his ties to the national party, previously describing himself as the “face of the Democratic Party” and the “Biden of Brooklyn” shortly after his election in 2021. But in recent years, that relationship has come under strain after the mayor’s direct criticism of the White House on immigration, as well as the investigations carried out throughout his administration. Adams went to the Democratic National Convention in Chicago but did not get a speaking slot. The mayor downplayed the snub, saying: “It’s not Eric’s show. » The New York Job released a report suggesting that Adams may be open to a possible legal reprieve from a future President Trump, citing unnamed sources in his camp. In the past, Trump has shown a willingness to pardon Democratic politicians accused of wrongdoing, including former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich and former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, whose prison sentences were commuted during his term.

In the days following the dinner, Adams avoided making a direct comment on Trump’s apparent support, or outright rejecting his overture. Last week, the mayor was asked about the possibility that a Trump presidency would result in charges against him being dropped. “I’m not speculating. I made it clear who I support and I’m focused on that,” he said, referring to his support of Kamala Harris for president.

Adams also cited his support for Harris on Tuesday, attributing questions about Trump’s comments to the final days of the political calendar. “Tis the season when stupidity enters politics,” he said.