NEW YORK — Mayor Eric Adams is complicating an already vexing decision facing Hakeem Jeffries as the House minority leader continues to contemplate endorsing the incumbent mayor’s chief rival, Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani.
Adams, a Democrat who’s running as an independent, said Wednesday that Jeffries and his Brooklyn counterpart, Rep. Yvette Clarke, “come from working-class communities” that aren’t buying much of what Mamdani is selling on the campaign trail. Like Jeffries, Clarke, who leads the Congressional Black Caucus, has not endorsed a mayoral candidate in the general election for mayor.
“Those communities don't believe prostitution should be on their streets, like [Mamdani] does,” Adams said. “They don't believe in defunding the police, like he does. They don't believe in getting rid of all misdemeanors, like he does. It would be challenging to endorse his policies that are really anti what working-class people want.”
Mamdani met Tuesday with Jeffries, Clarke and Black clergy leaders at a Brooklyn church, where the group discussed the exodus of Black city residents and the affordability crisis.
While it was at least the second meeting between Mamdani and Jeffries since the June primary, Mamdani still hasn’t locked down the Democratic leader’s endorsement.
The mayor currently lags behind Mamdani, Andrew Cuomo and Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa in the polls. He’s aiming to tie Mamdani to several left-leaning policies supported by the democratic socialist in the state Legislature and promoted by the Democratic Socialists of America as Jeffries and Clarke weigh an endorsement. While Jeffries has praised Mamdani publicly for his focus on affordability and the energy behind his campaign, he said he’s raised “several issues” with Mamdani in private. He has also publicly rebuked Mamdani’s refusal to condemn the phrase “globalize the intifada.”
Republicans are trying to tether Mamdani to more mainstream Democrats as well and have already signaled Mamdani’s presumed victory will be used to attack Democrats in the run-up to the midterms and the gubernatorial election next year.
Gov. Kathy Hochul — who has faced attacks for Mamdani’s win by potential gubernatorial opponent GOP Rep. Elise Stefanik — has so far not endorsed him. Neither hasSen. Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.
“I don’t think we’ve withheld an endorsement; we are engaging in a conversation about the future of New York City,” Jeffries told CNN on Sunday, when asked why he hasn’t backed Mamdani yet. “I’ve raised several of the issues with him privately, as well as publicly spoken about some of the concerns that I’ve had. But at this particular moment, we’re going to keep those conversations moving forward.”
In previous elections, Jeffries has had a mixed record of stopping the rise of democratic socialist candidates in his Brooklyn backyard.
Mamdani, a longtime democratic socialist, was a vocal supporter of the defund the police movement — a stance he’s recently retreated from — and backs left-leaning causes within the party like halting military aid to Israel and decriminalizing sex work.
Jeffries has opposed defunding the police and is a strong supporter of Israel.
Adams also attacked Mamdani on Wednesday for policies the national arm of the Democratic Socialists of America have promoted. Members of the group — which is distinct from the city’s DSA chapter — have voiced support for the “abolition of the family” and made a call to “end all misdemeanor offenses.”
“I don't know one working-class person that would like to leave their home and see a young boy or young girl standing on the corner selling their bodies,” Adams said Wednesday. “I don't know any working-class people who feel that we should not be embracing families. We believe in families. I believe in families. And so, I'm pretty sure they find it hard to embrace those policies that he's represented. Both of them, Hakeem and Yvette, they are working-class elected officials.”
Mamdani has only been endorsed by the NYC-DSA — not the national DSA — but a Mamdani spokesperson would not answer whether he supports the national organization’s call to “end all misdemeanor offenses.”
Adams also said Wednesday that Mamdani was “not a Democrat,” but a “communist” — a label favored by President Donald Trump to describe Mamdani, even though both he and the Communist Party in the U.S. have rejected it.
“It speaks volumes that Eric Adams would rather recycle Cold War insults than deal with the exhausting list of corruption and crises consuming his City Hall,” Dora Pekec, Mamdani’s spokesperson, said in a statement. “While he’s busy dodging indictments, delivering for his billionaire Trump donors, and holding a 30-year low approval rating, Zohran's focused on the issues that matter: making the most expensive city in the world more affordable and restoring trust in government.”
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