Former President Donald Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, on Sunday took a moment out of his roughly 80-minute Madison Square Garden screed against Democratic leadership to thank one member of the party: Mayor Eric Adams.
“You know who I want to thank? Mayor Adams,” Trump said during his speech, which capped off an hours-long rally at the iconic New York City arena on Oct. 27 that featured numerous speakers who offered crude, often racist remarks in support of Trump.
“Because Mayor Adams has been treated very badly,” Trump added about the mayor, who was indicted late last month on federal corruption charges.
The former president’s praise of Adams came a day after the mayor broke from many other prominent Democrats in saying that he does not believe Trump is a fascist. During an Oct. 26 news conference on security for the MSG rally, Adams said he knows “what [Adolf] Hitler has done” and “what a fascist regime looks like,” and believes that Trump does not fit into those definitions.
Trump, on Sunday, welcomed the mayor’s remarks, though he twisted Adams’ words — alleging that the mayor said “they shouldn’t be calling [him] a dictator,” which is not what Adams said Saturday.
“I have to tell you he’s been really great,” Trump said. “He said, ‘They shouldn’t be calling Trump a dictator because it’s not true.’ That was nice. Very nice. So, we want to thank Mayor Adams, he’s going through a hard time with these people.”
The Republican nominee repeated an unsubstantiated claim — made by himself and Adams — that the mayor was indicted by the feds as retaliation for speaking out against President Biden’s handling of the migrant crisis, which has disproportionately impacted the five boroughs. Adams had consistently criticized Biden for allowing tens of thousands of migrants to come to New York City over the past two years without providing more financial and logistical support.
“He said it very nicely, I said, ‘Well, he’s gonna be indicted by these lunatics for saying that,'” Trump said. “A year later, he got indicted.”
One of Adams’ 2025 Democratic primary challengers, Brooklyn state Sen. Zellnor Myrie, swiftly took to social media to blast Trump’s praise for Adams.
“If there were any doubt that it’s time to turn the page in New York City next year — Trump is now praising Adams at a fascist rally,” Myrie said. “Our city deserves a Mayor who isn’t afraid to call Trump out, reject his hateful rhetoric, and stand up for NYC values.”
In the months and weeks leading up to the election, Adams has distinguished himself from most other prominent Democrats by noticeably refusing to criticize Trump.
Last week, after Trump sympathized with Adams over his federal charges at the Alfred E. Smith Dinner, Adams declined to disavow the former president’s support.
During the rally, which lasted much of Sunday afternoon and evening, Trump and a parade of his allies hurled a litany of grievances at his political opponents. The speeches at many points devolved into racist and sexist rhetoric against Vice President Kamala Harris — the Democratic presidential nominee — and the party writ large.
Perhaps the most notable instance of hateful rhetoric in the rally was when podcast host and comedian Tony Hinchcliffe referred to Puerto Rico “a floating island of garbage” and suggested Latinos “enjoy having babies.”
“There’s no pulling out,” Hinchcliffe said. “They don’t do that. They c– inside, just like they did to our country.”
The mayor, in a Sunday night post on X, did denounce the “hateful words that were used by some at today’s rally,” but did not mention Trump by name.
“No matter who says it, hate is hate and there is no place for it in our city,” Adams wrote. “As Americans, we always should stand up against racism, antisemitism, and misogyny.”
With reporting by Robert Pozarycki
