Home » All Videos »
New York’s primary election is three months away, and the big city’s charming and flamboyant Mayor Eric Adams is in a jam. Forced by his indictment in September 2024 by the Biden-era Justice Department on federal corruption charges, he turned to President-elect Trump for help. He eventually got it. In exchange for his promise to crack down on undocumented immigrants, Adams got an invitation to Trump’s Inauguration and a stay out of jail free card. Now he must convince New Yorkers that it didn’t cost him his soul.
Somewhat alleviated, then the migrant crisis was real. The city was being crushed by busloads shipped up from the southern border by Texas officials intent on sowing chaos and making sanctuary cities like New York feel El Paso’s pain. As busload after busload strained city capacity, arrivals became a sore subject, antagonizing even many liberal New Yorkers.
Beginning in 2022, hotels were overflowing with thousands mostly from Venezuela and Central America. Sidewalk encampments were spreading from St. Thomas Church on Fifth Avenue, down to Stuyvesant Town on the Lower East Side. Loitering troublemakers seemed everywhere, especially on Fox News.
As the migrant tsunami crested, Mayor Adams embarrassed the Biden Administration with testimony that the city was being overwhelmed. He embraced candidate Trump’s solution of an unprecedented federal crackdown. Driven by a relentless Republican ad campaign, the issues of migrants and crime proved decisive in the November 2024 elections. After Trump’s victory, in a series of meetings public and private, Adams made clear that he was on board the Trump train.
The issue for New York City primary voters is whether Adams was being a conscientious leader or kissing up to Trump to get the feds off his back. Prosecutors on the case made clear they felt a dirty deal was done. Eight of them in NY and DC resigned in protest when the charges against Adams were dismissed. Now he faces voters outraged by his opportunistic embrace of President Trump.
With the daunting prospect of being routed in the June 24th primary, he might resign beforehand or at a minimum declare he is no longer a candidate for re-election. Either way, the winner of the primary will be someone with baggage of his own, Andrew Cuomo. He was an excellent three-term governor before he was forced out of office at the height of the me-too movement on uncorroborated allegations he has always denied as politically motivated.
Like his father before him, the late, great Mario Cuomo, Andrew ran New York State with a steady, compassionate hand. His supporters in the mayor’s race represent a broad cross-section of the city, Black, white, Latino, Asian, real estate, labor, and business. His mother Matilda is a saint. His brother Chris Cuomo is the best anchor on television.
The question is whether New Yorkers have sufficiently forgiven Andrew’s trespasses, real or imagined. None of the cases against him have resulted in charges, even those brought by the ruthlessly ambitious NY Attorney General Letitia James, who wanted to replace him as governor. New York to the core, Andrew Cuomo will make a great mayor.
More articles by Geraldo Rivera.
Watch Geraldo’s latest videos.