Mayor Eric Adams rejects Trump’s call for federal troops to fight crime in New York City

Despite claims from President Donald Trump that crime in the Big Apple is rising, Mayor Eric Adams told ABC News on Tuesday that New York does not need more National Guard troops to keep the city safe.

Adams, who is vying for a second term, discussed the city’s relationship with the federal government in a wide-ranging interview, commenting on the latest scandals affecting his administration and the rise of his competitor, Democratic mayoral nominee State Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani.

Adams rejects push for federal troops in NYC

As federalized troops continue to patrol Los Angeles and the federal government aims to take control of the police force in Washington, D.C., Adams pushed back on Trump’s suggestion that troops may be needed to patrol New York.

“Placing federal troops here in New York, I don’t see the need for it at all. We are doing an amazing job,” Adams said.

Adams’ statements come as officials in other states — like Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and Maryland Gov. Wes Moore — take stronger stances against the president’s threat to federalize the National Guard.

The mayor, whose relationship with the Trump administration in part spared him from federal charges earlier this year, distanced himself from their opposition, saying his focus is on safety.

New Yorkers have already seen National Guard troops after Gov. Kathy Hochul deployed soldiers to patrol the subway system last year.

When asked what he would do if Trump tried to deploy additional troops or take over, Adams declined to speculate about the president’s legal authority.

“Now, can he physically do it or not? Those [questions] are for the legal experts. My job is to keep the city safe, and that’s what we’re doing,” he said.

Adams emphasized that the New York Police Department already coordinates with federal agencies daily. In a meeting on Monday, Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch told U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi that deploying the National Guard on the streets of New York would be unnecessary.

Adams said he has not spoken directly with the president about the use of the National Guard, but he added that other administration officials have coordinated with the White House.

“We know what we need to do here, and we’re going to continue to do that, but I want to be clear on something else: We coordinate with our federal authorities every morning,” Adams said.

Adams to New Yorkers: ‘I’m sorry’

Adams’ administration has been engulfed in a series of scandals for nearly two years and many of those controversies continue to cast a shadow on the remainder of his term and re-election bid.

Last week, members of Adams’ inner circle got into more trouble with the law.

Ingrid Lewis-Martin, Adams’ former chief adviser who was a volunteer on his reelection campaign, was indicted by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg on four conspiracy indictments.

Prosecutors allege she was involved with more than $75,000 in bribes while serving as Adams’ chief adviser. They also accused Lewis-Martin and Jesse Hamilton, the city’s deputy commissioner for real estate services, of conspiring to fast-track development projects in exchange for renovations on their homes.

Lewis-Martin and Hamilton have pleaded not guilty. Hamilton resigned from his city position after he was charged.

Adams has not been accused of wrongdoing in these cases, however, amid the string of high-profile resignations and ongoing criminal cases, he offered a mea culpa to New Yorkers.

“To those New Yorkers that have to pick up their paper and read this headline, all I can say is I’m sorry, and I’m committed to this city,” Adams said.

Adams disavows alleged chip bag bribe incident involving former adviser

The latest controversy to hit the Adams administration came last week when Winnie Greco, a former aide and campaign volunteer, met with The City reporter Katie Honan last week and handed her a bag of potato chips with an envelope with cash inside, according to the reporter.

Greco and her attorney claimed that the incident was a mistake. Greco has not been charged with any crimes.

Adams reiterated that Greco is no longer working on the campaign and was not privy to the conversation with Honan or the incident.

“I don’t know what happened there. It is not something that I believe one should do. It gives a false image. It’s the wrong thing that should be done,” he said.

Adams added that his campaign has 800 volunteers.

“You don’t do background checks for everyone who volunteers,” he said.

Mayor brushes off turmoil amid scandals

Adams became the first sitting New York City mayor to be indicted on criminal charges last fall after federal prosecutors accused him of taking lavish flights and hotel stays from Turkish businessmen and officials for more than a decade.

While legal issues continue to follow some of his aides, the criminal case against Adams himself was dismissed earlier this year following orders from top Department of Justice officials. According to the DOJ, the decision was made without considering the strength of the case against Adams, but rather because the charges “unduly restricted Mayor Adams’ ability to devote full attention and resources to the illegal immigration and violent crime.”

“You might be on trial now, were it not for the Trump Justice Department deciding to drop the case. Can you convince New Yorkers in a second term that you would do what they want and not what the president wants?” ABC News’ Aaron Katersky asked.

“The case was dropped with prejudice. That means to New York, to New Yorkers, that it won’t come back again,” Adams said.

Five months after the case was dismissed, Adams continued to argue that the case against him was politically motivated. According to Adams, he was charged with crimes because of his “willingness to fight for the city.”

He added, “I didn’t spend all my life in law enforcement to break the law. I’ve never broke the law. I never did anything to violate the trust of the people of the city.”

Adams dismissed the notion that the federal case negatively reflects his leadership and contended that “many administrations had to deal with scandals.”

“When you’re focused on delivering for New Yorkers, you know, we made mistakes. There are people that we brought in government that were probably not ready to go into government, but we must forge ahead,” he said.

Mayor bashes Mamdani’s platform

Adams was asked about Mamdani, who scored an upset victory in June against former Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the Democratic mayoral primary and is leading in the polls for the general election.

The Queens assemblyman will face off against Adams and Cuomo, who are both running on independent tickets, and Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa.

Mamdani has spent a lot of his campaign criticizing Adams administration’s scandals and slamming policies that he claims don’t tackle issues important to New Yorkers, such as affordability.

Adams pushed back against Mamdani’s claims and his opponent’s embrace of Democratic socialist policies, which the mayor argued would weaken law enforcement.

“His platform doesn’t believe in family. They don’t believe in mom and dad raising children,” the mayor claimed. “We’ve come too far to allow his policies to take us backwards.”

The mayor also noted that Mamdani’s win in June, where he had roughly 573,169 votes according to the city Department of Elections, did not represent the full voter demographic of the city, including independent and Republican voters.

Adams received 404,513 votes in the 2021 Democratic mayoral primary , and 753,801 votes in the general electionfive months later, according to the city’s Department of Elections.

Adams mum on possible Trump endorsement

Trump has also criticized Mamdani since his primary win and said that he might get involved in the election. In the past, the president has backed Adams and even called his indictment politically motivated.

Adams declined to answer when asked if he would welcome Trump’s endorsement in the race.

“My most important person in this city is the voter,” he said.