For the first time as mayoral rivals, Mayor Eric Adams and former Gov. Andrew Cuomo shared a stage on Thursday — albeit a few minutes apart.
Speaking one after another at a candidate forum hosted by Rev. Al Sharpton’s National Action Network, Adams and Cuomo joined seven other mayoral hopefuls in making their case to an overwhelmingly Black audience at the civil rights group’s annual convention. The mayor, looking energized in his first campaign appearance after announcing he will run for re-election as an independent instead of a Democrat, sounded much like his usual pugnacious, hard-to-pin-down self.
“There isn’t a level of inconsistency in who I’ve always been,” Adams insisted, dancing around a question about whether he was willing to fight President Donald Trump over his anti-diversity policies. “I’m going to fight any White House that is not going to benefit our city.”
The forum consisted of onstage interviews in a ballroom at the Sheraton Times Square hotel, conducted by Sharpton, NAN Vice Chair Jennifer Jones Austin and former Congressman Max Rose.
Adams dismissed a question from Sharpton, a onetime ally who has criticized the mayor’s increasing warmth toward Trump and the GOP, about whether his independent bid could increase the likelihood of a Republican winning the November general election — likening the expected nominee Curtis Sliwa to a “buffoon.” And despite his own murky party affiliation, Adams said he would be happy to see Hakeem Jeffries become U.S. House Speaker should Democrats win a majority next year.
“Look, I didn’t leave the party. The party left me,” he said. “When we stopped talking about real issues that impact working-class people every day, when we started to intellectualize and be philosophical about those issues that don’t touch real people.”
Although Adams faces long odds in his general election bid, his appearance Thursday demonstrated the appeal he still holds, especially among outer-borough Black voters. After drawing polite applause when he strode onstage, Adams got the crowd cheering a few minutes later when he listed the accomplishments he feels have been overlooked — including a drop in unemployment among New Yorkers of color and improvements in public school students’ reading and math exams.
“When you look at what we have done, I don’t even wonder why I’m still asking to be re-elected,” he said to applause.
Cuomo, speaking right before the mayor, passed up a chance to opine on Adams, telling Sharpton he would not “second-guess” the mayor. Responding to mostly friendly questions, Cuomo alluded briefly to building more affordable housing and providing better childcare. Cuomo also showed he is sharpening his tone toward Trump after receiving criticism for his restrained rhetoric early on in his campaign.
“When President Trump puts his finger in your chest, the worst thing you can do is step backwards,” Cuomo said.
Cuomo raised eyebrows inside the Sheraton ballroom when Sharpton asked him whether he would commit to serving a full four-year term as mayor, given the elections for governor and president that loom in 2026 and 2028. Cuomo said no.
“What if I die?” Cuomo mused. “Short of that, I commit.”
The candidates who spoke next seized the opportunity to criticize the former governor, who maintains a wide lead in primary polls. Council Speaker Adrienne Adams said voters would “remember” his handling of the pandemic, including early disparities in vaccine access in communities of color, and his presiding over funding cuts to hospitals and psychiatric clinics.
“Some of the same situations that we’re dealing with right now are as a direct result of those policies that our former governor put forth,” she said.
Comptroller Brad Lander referenced Cuomo’s early support from wealthy businesspeople. Although he named no names, Lander said Cuomo’s “biggest supporters are the biggest opponents” of diversity, equity and inclusion policies.
Adams’ withdrawal from the Democratic primary leaves seven other candidates — Speaker Adams, Lander, Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani, state Sens. Jessica Ramos and Zellnor Myrie, former Comptroller Scott Stringer, former Assemblyman Michael Blake and investor Whitney Tilson — trying desperately to narrow Cuomo’s double-digit polling lead.
Mamdani, a democratic socialist from Queens, has shown momentum, with recent polls placing him a distant second behind the former governor.
