NYC Mayor Eric Adams to appear on right-wing pundit Tucker Carlson's show

Josephine Stratman and Chris Sommerfeldt, New York Daily News on Jan 21, 2025

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NEW YORK — Mayor Eric Adams will appear on far-right pundit Tucker Carlson’s show Tuesday evening despite criticizing Carlson four years ago as someone who “perpetuates racist, anti-immigrant propaganda.”

In a preview of the interview, taped recently at Gracie Mansion, the mayor acknowledged he has recently ruffled the feathers of many fellow Democrats by developing a relationship with President Trump.

“People often say, ‘well, you know, you don’t sound like a Democrat, you seem like you’ve left the party,’” Adams said in the preview clip posted by Carlson on X.

“No. The party left me.”

Adams has drawn ire from a range of Democrats for skipping Martin Luther King Jr. Day events in NYC to accept a last-minute invitation to Trump’s inauguration, meeting with the president last week at Mar-a-Lago and avoiding publicly criticizing the president.

Carlson is closely aligned with Trump and considered a top political adviser to the president. The mayor previously rejected praise from Carlson, an accused conspiracy theorist, during the lead-up to the 2021 mayoral primary, when the then-Fox News host dedicated part of a segment to Adams.

“I don’t want or need the support of Tucker Carlson, or anyone else who perpetuates racist, anti-immigrant propaganda,” Adams tweeted on May 6, 2021.

Tusday, Adams spokeswoman Kayla Mamelak defended his appearance on Carlson’s show as a sign of his willingness to speak with voices from across the political spectrum.

“Mayor Adams does not believe we should be living in silos and speaking into echo chambers,” said Mamelak, who declined to comment on the mayor’s feeling about Carlson given his 2021 comments.

“At a time where our country is so divided, the mayor believes we must break out of our comfort zones and speak with everyone – even those we may not always agree with.”

A preview of Tuesday’s pretaped interview showed Carlson asking if New York City “deserves” other countries sending their “illegals” since the city welcomes them by being a sanctuary city.

“We’re not welcoming them, we’ve been very clear,” Adams responded, prompting Carlson to laugh.

The mayor also claimed the White House told him to “be a good Democrat” in handling the migrant crisis

Adams’ appearance on Carlson’s show wasn’t listed on the mayor’s public schedule for Tuesday. Mamelak said that’s because she doesn’t “usually put interviews that run on Twitter or Instagram on the public schedule.”

The show airs on Carlson’s website.

The news of the interview faced near-immediate backlash from critics,many of who have said Adams has grown too cozy with Trump. The mayor was indicted in September on bribery and campaign finance charges, and his appeals to Trump have prompted speculation he is fishing for a pardon from Trump.

“It is becoming abundantly clear that Eric Adams has neither the interest nor a path to being the Democratic nominee for Mayor in 2025,” Queens Assemblymember and mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani said in a statement.

“He will either return to his former status as a Republican and seek employment in the Trump administration or its affiliated media, or run outside of the Democratic Primary for a second term and play spoiler in the November general election. It’s time for him to make his intentions plain.”

“I can’t wait to vote him out,” progressive Councilmember Chi Osse wrote on social media.

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