Embattled New York City Mayor Eric Adams, drowning in scandals and lagging polls, is reportedly considering abandoning his re-election bid to join Donald Trump’s administration.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams is quietly exploring a stunning political pivot—abandoning his troubled re-election campaign to take a position in a potential Trump administration, according to a bombshell report from The New York Times.
Sources close to the mayor, speaking on condition of anonymity, revealed that Adams has confided to friends and advisers that he is “seriously” weighing his options as corruption scandals batter his campaign and polls show him trailing badly.
The talks have reportedly involved Trump intermediaries, including real estate magnate Steve Witkoff, who met Adams in Florida this week. City Hall initially described the trip as a “personal matter,” later revising it to a birthday celebration, before Adams himself claimed he was meeting “political figures.”
While the exact nature of the meeting remains unclear, multiple reports confirm Trump’s team has floated possible administration roles for Adams. The maneuvering coincides with discussions about sidelining Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa to allow former Governor Andrew Cuomo a clearer shot at Democratic frontrunner Zohran Mamdani—an outspoken critic of Israel who has refused to denounce the slogan “globalize the intifada” and who condemned Israel just one day after Hamas’s October 7 massacre.
Former Governor David Paterson, a confidant of Adams, admitted the mayor is conflicted: “He told me he wants to stay in the race, but he’s listening to other options. ‘Listening’ means he knows his odds of winning aren’t where he’d like them to be.”
Polls currently show Mamdani with a strong lead, while Cuomo and Adams both run as independents. Trump has been linked to backroom phone calls with Cuomo—allegations the former governor has denied. Mamdani, for his part, blasted reports of White House meddling, calling them “corrupt agreements” and “an affront to our democracy.”
For Adams, however, the writing may already be on the wall: his once formidable political machine now looks like it may collapse, forcing him to choose between a bruising defeat in New York—or a future in Washington under Trump.
