‘who Started The Stupid Rumor?’ Embattled Eric Adams Is Back

NEW YORK — Hobbled politically, legally and physically, Mayor Eric Adams reemerged Thursday with a clear message: he’s not resigning, and don’t count him out for reelection either.

“Who started the stupid rumor that I was stepping down on Friday? Are you out of your mind?” he said, pointing his finger at reporters during an interfaith breakfast. “How do you print a rumor that I’m resigning on Friday but don’t print the facts that we had more jobs in the city’s history on that same day?”

Adams’ speech at the event in Midtown Manhattan marked his first public appearance in seven days, a period when City Hall said he would be attending to health issues. During that time, Adams still hosted two labor leaders at his Gracie Mansion residence, POLITICO reported. His attorney Alex Spiro, and City Hall representatives, denied rumors of a pending resignation on Wednesday, as news broke that President Donald Trump is considering directing his Department of Justice to drop criminal charges against the mayor.

The crowd at Adams’ speech was intended to send as strong a signal to his foes as the words themselves: In attendance were hundreds of faith leaders, many of them Black, who are core to his political base. Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo will compete for the same leaders and voters if he jumps into the mayor’s race as expected.

Adams did not explicitly mention his potential rival, but the speech served as a warning. Adams received a standing ovation before his speech, and as he left, a supporter started a brief chant of “four more years.”

Adams’ poll numbers are low, he’s been denied millions of dollars in public matching funds because of his criminal case and his appeals to Trump — who has the power to clear him — have fueled attacks from rivals. Adams has consistently said he plans to run for reelection as a Democrat, even as his trial is scheduled to start just two months before the June 24 Democratic primary.

So in a campaign style speech, Adams returned to his biography, a frequent tool he used to success in his last race. He described his difficult upbringing — raised in poverty and bullied in school — as proof that he can handle the criticisms that come with being mayor.

“Let me tell you why people are angry: because finally one of you is in charge of the city,” he said. “I’m an ordinary, dyslexic, hard-working, blue collar mayor and those who have been in power for years that denied you have to deal with the fact we are now in charge.”

“Every day they burn candles, they light incense, they say prayers, they do everything they can: is he gone yet?” Adams added. “No he’s not. No he’s not.”

Listing successes like paying college tuition for children in foster care as well as housing and serving more than 200,000 migrants, Adams blamed the media for not reporting the good news. At one point, he directly addressed a news photographer in the crowd who was walking towards the door to get a different angle of the speech.

“Where are you going, cameraman? You’ve got to cover this like you covered that sign,” he said, referring to a protester who quietly held up a hand painted sign asking Adams to “show mercy to our immigrant friends.”

Unfair coverage, Adams claimed, “is why you’re seeing people that are booing, instead of wooing.”