Democrats in New York disrupt Mayor Adams’ Trump defense and undermine Harris’ main message

Democratic politicians in New York grew increasingly angry with Mayor Adams on Monday after he suggested it is wrong to call Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump a “fascist” – a position the mayor previously took the ex-president’s weekend rally in Manhattan, where speakers made racist comments.

The mayor said Saturday he does not think it is appropriate to label Trump as a fascist or compare him to dictators like Adolf Hitler. “My answer is no,” Adams told reporters. “I know what Hitler did and I know what a fascist regime looks like.”

These comments run counter to messages from Vice President Kamala Harris, whose presidential campaign is leading up to next week’s elections. He tried to portray Trump as an aspiring autocrat with fascist tendencies that conflict with American values.

“He absolutely is Undermining Kamala and helping Trumpand it’s terrible,” City Attorney Jumaane Williams, a progressive Democrat, told the Daily News of Adams on Monday afternoon.

Adams’ comments prompted Trump to thank him by name during his speech on Sunday campaign rally at Madison Square Garden, where the former president told the crowd that the mayor was “really great” and that it was “really nice” of the mayor to stand up for him.

Adams’ office did not return a request for comment from the mayor Monday. A spokesperson for Harris’ campaign also did not respond to messages.

Meanwhile, a number of locally elected Democrats alongside Williams have criticized Adams.

Manhattan Sen. Brad Hoylman-Sigal, a Democrat who made headlines earlier this month by comparing Sunday’s planned Trump campaign event to the infamous 1939 gathering of American Nazis at The Garden, said he was disappointed in Adams.

“I hope the mayor would defend the New Yorkers who were so viciously targeted by the… MSG meeting — including women, Jews, Muslims and Puerto Ricans — instead of blatantly sucking up to Trump,” said Hoylman-Sigal, whose district includes The Garden, referring to the racist and sexist comments made by speakers at Trump’s rally.

After Trump’s event, Adams turned to called waste. and claimed that Latinos “like having babies.” The mayor’s post did not mention Trump or other rally speakers by name.

Brooklyn Councilman Lincoln Restler, a progressive Democrat, agreed with Williams that Adams is giving the former president an edge in the Nov. 5 election by contradicting the Harris campaign’s talking points.

“Trump’s record of fascist rhetoric is well documented – the mayor’s choice to defend him is deeply disturbing and counterproductive,” Restler said. “New Yorkers deserve leaders who stand up for our values.”

Several candidates challenging Adams in next year’s Democratic mayoral primary, including Sen. Zellnor Myrie and City Comptroller Brad Lander, also targeted him during the latest Trump flap.

Lander said Adams’ comments make it seem like he hopes that Trump, if elected, could help resolve his legal issues with the FBI. “NYC needs a mayor who will protect us from an authoritarian — and yes, fascist — bully, not someone who appears to be seeking a pardon from him,” Lander wrote on X.

Adams, who says he is supporting Harris in next week’s high-stakes election, has come to Trump’s defense twice in recent weeks.

After Adams was indicted on September 26 on federal charges Trump claimed he took bribes from Turkish government officials in exchange for political favors. Trump said he wished the mayor “the best” and that he was convinced “dirty players” at the Justice Department are prosecuting him as punishment for his criticism of President Biden’s handling of the migrant crisis.

“I welcome support from every American, wherever they are and whoever they are,” Adams said when asked for a response to Trump’s support earlier this month. Adams has pleaded not guilty in the case brought by the U.S. attorney’s office in Manhattan.

Trump, who faces two federal charges and was convicted of criminal charges in Manhattan this spring, again made sympathetic comments to Adams during the Al Smith Dinner on Oct. 17, telling the mayor that they are both being “prosecuted” by Biden’s Justice Department, but that he is confident they will both “win.”

When asked last week whether he would reject Trump’s comments, Adams said New Yorkers need to look at the issues. “I just don’t go back and forth on the comments being made on either side,” he said.