NYC Mayor Adams says pardon didn't come up in Trump meeting

Mayor Eric Adams told reporters on Saturday that the topic of a presidential pardon did not come up during his meeting with President-elect Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago in Florida on Friday.

The mayor said he and Trump instead discussed topics such as the cease-fire agreement between Israel and Hamas, bringing manufacturing jobs back to the Bronx, and infrastructure. Adams decried “inaccurate speculation” about the meeting and asserted that he was simply performing his due diligence as New York City’s mayor.

“I’m the mayor of the biggest city in America,” he said at a Saturday afternoon press conference. “I’m supposed to speak with the president, like I spoke with President [Joe] Biden.”

Trump, who will be sworn in on Monday, has previously said he would consider pardoning Adams, who currently faces multiple investigations and has made clear that he intends to run for re-election this year. Adams faces allegations that he accepted bribes and illegal campaign donations from individuals with ties to the Turkish government. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges. Adams’ trial is scheduled for April.

“I’ve answered the question over and over again about my case – and I’ve got an attorney to handle that. And I’m not going to keep answering the same question over and over again,” Adams said.

During Saturday’s briefing, Adams also expressed hope about Trump’s second presidential term and expressed a willingness to work with him, stating that he was “optimistic about the future of this city under a president that comes from this city.” The president-elect was born and raised in southeast Queens, where Adams also spent a large part of his youth.

“We have something in common. He loves New York. I love New York, and that means a lot to me,” Adams said.

Adams also said that Trump’s victory was indicative of Americans’ concerns about immigration. When asked whether the NYPD would cooperate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in immigration raids planned to begin as part of Trump’s deportation plan, Adams said “the law is the law,” referring to New York City’s sanctuary laws, which impose limitations on the ability of city agencies to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement. In December, Adams announced plans to amend the city’s sanctuary laws through an executive order following a meeting with Trump’s incoming “border czar,” Tom Homan.

The mayor also said he would be unfazed by Inauguration Day-related protests on Monday, which is also Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.

“Democracy is not frictionless. Democracy is about raising your voice on what you support, what you like and what you dislike, and no matter what you do, there's 8.3 million New Yorkers, there’s 35 million opinions,” Adams said.