NYC Mayor Eric Adams made a perplexing reference to “Mein Kampf” during a rally at a Brooklyn church, as he lashed out at critics urging him to resign amid increasing chaos surrounding his administration.
Adams, speaking to around 50 supporters at the Rehoboth Cathedral on MacDougal Street, took aim at public advocate Jumaane Williams, a potential successor, who could become mayor if the embattled Adams were to step down. “I still don’t know what he does, because it’s hard to really serve the city when you wake up at noon,” said Adams, in a harsh critique of Williams.
He went on to explain his resistance to resigning: “If I step down, the public advocate becomes the mayor. So can you imagine turning the city over to him? That is the top reason not to step down.”
Adams continued with a pointed remark: “When you don’t have a job, you can go all over the city throwing rocks. I love this city too much to watch him become mayor.”
The event, attended by local clergy members, saw them offering support and praying for the mayor during his remarks.
Among his claims, Adams discussed a supposed quote from Martin Luther King, Jr., who he said had recited a line from Adolf Hitler’s “Mein Kampf.” “If you tell a lie long enough, loud enough, people will tend to believe it’s true,” Adams said, suggesting that he was being falsely targeted by his detractors. However, the quote is not from Hitler’s book but is widely attributed to Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels.
Despite the mix-up, Adams proceeded with a lengthy defense of his record, particularly regarding his management of the migrant crisis in the city. “I slept in a homeless shelter with my migrant, asylum-seeker brothers and sisters and talked with them on the ground,” Adams said. “Now they have a loud voice yelling at me — where were you when I was going to Washington, DC, fighting for the people of the city?”
Adams also expressed frustration over what he perceives as the public’s tendency to protest his initiatives: “When we talk about taking homeless off our streets so we won’t have encampments, they protested me. When we talk about taking guns off our streets by having our gun units in place, they protested me. When we talk about changing and building new small businesses, they protested me. When we talk about putting police officers on a train to make our streets safe, they protested me. When we talked about mental health issues and crises to prevent people from living in that condition, they protested me. All they know how to do is protest.”
Much of the criticism surrounding Adams stems from ongoing legal issues. The 64-year-old mayor has pleaded not guilty to charges accusing him of facilitating the opening of the Turkish Consulate in Manhattan in exchange for bribes totaling $123,000 and accepting illegal donations during his 2021 campaign.
However, the Trump administration intervened, with the Justice Department directing Manhattan federal prosecutors to drop the case, calling it politically motivated. This move led to the resignation of Manhattan’s top federal prosecutor, Danielle Sassoon, who criticized the decision as a “quid pro quo” arrangement designed to pressure Adams into complying with Trump’s immigration policy.
Even if the legal case dissolves, Adams faces continued political turmoil. Over 30 Democratic leaders, including prominent members of the New York State Senate, have called for his resignation.
Despite this, Adams remains defiant, declaring to a Queens congregation on Sunday that he is on a mission from God and intends to stay in office.
However, several high-ranking deputies have resigned. Reports indicate that deputy mayors Maria Torres Springer, Meera Joshi, Anne Williams Isom, and Chauncey Parker stepped down following the Justice Department’s controversial intervention, despite efforts by the administration to prevent them from making their departures public.
On the same day, City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams added her voice to the growing resignation movement. She stated, “It’s clear that Mayor Adams has now lost the confidence and trust of his own staff, his colleagues in government, and New Yorkers.”
She called for the mayor to step down, emphasizing the stakes for the city: “He now must prioritize New York City and New Yorkers, step aside and resign. This administration no longer has the ability to effectively govern with Eric Adams as mayor … there is too much at stake for our city and New Yorkers to allow this to continue.”
“We have endured enough scandal, selfishness and embarrassment, all of which distract from the leadership that New Yorkers deserve,” she added. “This is the opposite of public service.”
{Matzav.com}