New York City Mayor Eric Adams on Tuesday declined to answer questions about former president Donald Trump and recent comments he made during the weekend rally at Madison Square Garden at a contentious weekly press briefing.
The mayor quickly shut down questions regarding Trump and instead called for members of the media to “turn down the rhetoric” and ask questions that matter to New Yorkers.
“I find [it] insulting when you have children dying on top of trains…A housing crisis in the city, affordability…With all that's going on to everyday New Yorkers, we're asking questions that is someone a fascist or is someone a Hitler,” he said.
During the rally at MSG, Trump thanked the mayor and said he was "treated pretty badly," as the city grappled with the surge in asylum seekers over the past two years. He also thanked the mayor for not calling him a dictator.
Adams criticized how the press has covered him during his time in office.
“I understand why people say we're doing such a terrible job, because people get their news from you guys,” Adams said. “There's nothing that's reported on what we do. You would think we do nothing in the city.”
When asked whether the city would help carry out Trump's campaign promise of invoking the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, leading to the mass deportation of undocumented immigrants should he be elected, Adams said he would not comment on hypothetical situations.
“This is a sanctuary city: something that I advocated for. Those who commit illegal actions in the city, I don't believe they should be able to remain,” said Adams.
Additionally, the mayor defended New York Police Department Chief of Patrol John Chell for appearing on the conservative news outlet Newsmax for an interview.
“So if the rule is that we don't talk to any outlets that we don't like, then, you know, let me get out of here,” said Adams. “Stop acting like all of you [the press] have a halo over your head.”
After five teenagers were killed in gun violence in the city over the past week, Adams said the U.S. needs additional federal gun laws to go after gun trafficking, in combination with an increase in youth mental health services.
"And then we need to have that real educational program that we're doing in schools every day and talk to these young people to become peer to peer counselors. Cause no one wants to hear from me. They want to hear from other young people," he said.
The mayor also praised the recently announced Family Building Benefits program, an effort to assist New York City workers looking to start a family.
The plan applies to 27,000 non-union city employees and retirees who have access to the Management Benefits Fund and will give families up to $10,000 in reimbursement for costs dealing with adoption, surrogacy and egg or sperm donation.
“Any parent would tell you or expecting family would tell you how difficult it is to start a family,” said Adams. “I want to really take my hat off to the council members that really pushed this bill forward.”
New York City is the first major city in the United States to provide such benefits to city employees.
