Former President Donald Trump, who remains entangled in a series of legal battles, expressed sympathy for Mayor Eric Adams during the 79th Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner on Thursday night stemming from the mayor’s recent federal indictment.
The former president drew a parallel between his own legal woes and those of the embattled mayor while giving remarks during the charity dinner, which functions as a comedic roast among the political class that takes place before each presidential election.
Trump endorsed the mayor’s unsubstantiated claim that the federal charges against Adams were retaliation from President Joe Biden for his outspokenness on the migrant influx that has engulfed the city since 2022. The federal case against Adams — alleging a bribery scheme involving foreign gifts and campaign donations in exchange for favors — began in 2021, before he was elected mayor.
“Mayor Adams, good luck with everything, they went after you,” Trump joked with Adams, who was sitting a few chairs down on the same dais. “Nine and a half months ago I said ‘he just said something bad about the administration, he’s gonna be indicted any moment.’ And guess what happened?”
“But you’re gonna win,” he added.
Adams was charged by the Manhattan U.S. Attorney’s office on Sept. 26 with bribery, conspiracy, soliciting illegal foreign campaign donations and wire fraud. He pleaded not guilty to all five charges and has vowed to fight the case in court.
Meanwhile, Trump was convicted in May on 34 felony counts for interfering in the 2016 presidential election by making hush money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels.
The former president, who joked he was happy to be in New York without getting subpoenaed, said the mayor’s case is “peanuts compared to what they’ve done to me.”
Trump echoed in his speech the theory Adams peddled the night before and day of his indictment that the charges against him were retribution for his frequent criticisms that the Biden administration had not given the city enough migrant crisis support. But since the charges against him were unsealed, Adams seems to have steered clear of repeating that claim.
Fabien Levy, the mayor’s top spokesperson, responded to Trump’s comments by telling the Daily News that “it is the Al Smith dinner. … People make jokes — and no one takes them seriously.”
Adams and Trump have an odd relationship, given that the former is the Democratic mayor of the nation’s largest city and the latter is the leader of the Republican Party and its presidential nominee.
Although the mayor has endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris’ White House bid, he has been notably reluctant to criticize Trump. He often steers clear of attacking the former president in instances where most Democrats jump at the opportunity.
