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NYC Mayor Adams says he and Trump didn't discuss his corruption case during Florida meeting

Chris Sommerfeldt, New York Daily News on

Published in News & Features

New York City Mayor Eric Adams said he didn’t discuss his federal corruption case with soon-to-be president Donald Trump during their meeting in Florida on Friday — and he chided a growing chorus of fellow Democrats back in New York who are blasting him for the sit-down.

Late Thursday, Adams’ office first announced the mayor would meet with Trump to talk about “New Yorkers’ priorities” amid concerns about the effect the incoming president will have on the city as it relates to key issues like immigration and federal funding.

Many elected Democrats in the city, progressives and centrists alike, questioned what the meeting would actually be about as Adams — who’s facing federal corruption charges — hasn’t ruled out accepting legal help from Trump. In turn, Trump has openly entertained the idea of pardoning Adams for his alleged crimes.

After a roughly hour-long lunch meeting with Trump at his namesake golf club in Palm Beach, Adams issued a statement Friday evening in which he said they “briefly touched on a number of issues” but that his corruption case wasn’t one of them.

“To be clear, we did not discuss my legal case, and those who suggest the mayor of the largest city in the nation shouldn’t meet with the incoming president to discuss our city’s priorities because of inaccurate speculation or because we’re from different parties clearly care more about politics than people,” Adams’ statement read.

Adams said they did discuss the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, “and how it will have a positive impact on public safety in our country.” On an issue much closer to home, Adams said he and Trump also talked about bringing “manufacturing jobs back to New York, particularly in the Bronx,” and openings for “federal investments in New York City, especially when it comes to infrastructure.”

“I will take every opportunity possible to advocate for New Yorkers and our city, and after our discussion, I strongly believe there is much our city and the federal government can partner on to make New York City safer, stronger, and more affordable,” Adams’ statement added. “I thank President Trump for his time and attention and look forward to working with him to benefit all New Yorkers.”

Adams, a conservative Democrat who used to be a Republican, didn’t say whether he and Trump talked about immigration — an issue that has been especially pressing for New York, which is home to hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrants. Trump, who’s set to be inaugurated Monday, has vowed to launch mass deportation proceedings of undocumented immigrants across the U.S. and has even threatened to withhold federal funding from cities like New York if they do not cooperate in his crackdown.

 

According to a source familiar with the meeting, Frank Carone, Adams’ ex-chief of staff and longtime political confidant, joined the mayor for the sit-down with Trump. The talk was also attended by Eric Trump, the incoming president’s son, and Steve Witkoff, a billionaire real estate mogul appointed by Trump as his incoming administration’s special envoy to the Middle East, the source told The New York Daily News.

Adams used city taxpayer dollars to pay for his Florida visit as his office said there was a “city purpose” in the trip.

Adams, who has pleaded not guilty, is expected to stand trial in Manhattan Federal Court in April — just weeks before June’s Democratic mayoral primary — on criminal charges alleging he took illegal campaign cash and bribes from Turkish government operatives in exchange for political favors.

Trump, the first convicted felon to become commander-in-chief, has sympathized with Adams over his indictment, claiming, without evidence, that they are both victims of politically motivated prosecutions launched by President Joe Biden’s Justice Department. Last month, Trump stated outright that he would consider pardoning Adams once he’s back in the Oval Office, and the mayor hasn’t ruled out accepting it.

All of Adams’ Democratic primary challengers have torn into him for his Trump meeting, questioning what good could come from it for New York.

“The Trump agenda is not going to move the city forward,” Brooklyn state Sen. Zellnor Myrie, one of Adams’ challengers, said in an appearance on WNYC radio Friday. “Trump has already told us some of the things that he wants to do, whether it’s cuts to our education, cuts to our health care or going after vulnerable New Yorkers. This mayor could not meet with the current president, President Biden, on the city’s priorities … But he has somehow made this a priority.”

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©2025 New York Daily News. Visit nydailynews.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

 

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