Mayor Adams, dealing with calls to resign amid controversy over the Trump DOJ’s transfer to dismiss his federal corruption indictment, defended himself Monday towards accusations he used racially insensitive language in latest feedback about fellow Black politicians and stated he’s being focused by a political “lynch mob.”
In a press convention at Metropolis Corridor, the mayor was requested why he thought it was acceptable final week to label Black politicians who’ve urged him to resign “Negroes” in want of saving from God.
“Well, those Negroes knew they were wrong,” Adams replied.
The mayor, who made the comment in query at a Black Historical past Month celebration at Gracie Mansion final Tuesday, urged there’s nothing offensive concerning the phrase.
“Why are we trying to classify the term Negro as being a derogatory term?” he stated, noting there are organizations with names that embody the time period, such because the United Negro Faculty Fund.
Conversely, Adams stated the outrage ought to really be concerning the mounting requires him to resign or be faraway from workplace.
“Those who are elected in office who are aware of the rules are saying, ‘He needs to be removed, he needs to step down’ — that’s what we should be angry about,” he stated. “Where is the process that we’re supposed to follow instead of this sort of lynch mob mentality? That’s what we should be angry about, we have witnessed a lynch mob mentality before.”
Metropolis Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, state Senate Majority Chief Andrea Stewart-Cousins and different outstanding Black elected officers stated late final month that he ought to step down.
The calls for come as President Trump’s Division of Justice is looking for to dismiss the mayor’s corruption indictment with the understanding that it might be resurrected as early as November, an uncommon caveat that each critics and allies say make him beholden to Trump. Adams has stated there was no quid professional quo with the Justice Division.
In a proper dismissal request, which is pending approval from a federal choose, Trump’s DOJ wrote that the president expects quashing Adams’ legal case will allow the mayor to assist facilitate Trump’s agenda, together with his vow to focus on undocumented New Yorkers for “mass deportations.”
Adams’ controversial feedback got here ultimately Tuesday’s Gracie Mansion occasion, the place he stated he was going by means of “a biblical moment.”
“When Jesus was on the cross, he said, ‘God forgive them for they know not what they do.’ All these Negroes who are asking me to step down, God forgive them,” he stated.
Black leaders, together with Harlem pastor and civil rights advocate Johnnie Inexperienced, stated final week the mayor’s use of the racial phrase in that context was deeply insensitive.
Merriam Webster, the dictionary, labels the phrase “Negro” as “dated” and “often offensive.”
Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, a vocal Adams critic who’s Black, stated his reference to a “lynch mob” Monday was likewise offensive.
“The second Black mayor in our history is actively undoing the decades of progress it took to elect even the first. It’s deeply disrespectful to both the leaders who worked to get us here and people who hope to carry us forward,” Williams stated.
Initially Revealed: March 3, 2025 at 4:18 PM EST
