New York City Mayor Eric Adams is swatting down rumors that he’s ready to quit the mayor’s race in exchange for a job in Washington.
According to Politico, Adams was offered a post at the Department of Housing and Urban Development. But when CNN asked on Wednesday if he might step aside, Adams didn’t flinch.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams
“I have a job. I’m running for my reelection. I am still doing that, and I’m looking forward to getting reelected,” he said.
Speculation has been building for months, though. Adams’ reelection campaign has been mired in corruption scandals involving top aides, and last year he was charged in a bribery scheme alleging that he solicited donations from foreign nationals—charges that were later dropped after President Donald Trump’s Department of Justice ordered prosecutors to stand down.
Adding fuel to the fire is Adams’ unannounced trip to Florida this week. His team called it “personal,” but later admitted that he met with Miami’s mayor and “several political figures.” Two sources told Politico that Adams also sat down with Trump’s team during the visit.
According to The New York Times, Trump allies have floated administration jobs for both Adams and GOP mayoral candidate Curtis Sliwa to clear the way for former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who is running as an independent after losing the Democratic primary to Zohran Mamdani, a 33-year-old state assembly member and democratic socialist.
Sliwa, however, said he’s not planning to leave the race.
“The White House has not contacted me, and I’m not interested in a job with the White House,” he told CNN. “I’m the only candidate on a major party line who can defeat Mamdani.”
Todd Shapiro, a spokesperson for Adams’ campaign, echoed similar sentiments and insisted that he has not met with Trump.
“Don’t believe the noise. He is not dropping out of the race. The Mayor is fully committed to winning this election,” Shapiro said in a statement to CNN, touting lower crime rates and increased job growth under Adams.
Trump’s maneuvering isn’t new. The Times reported in August that he was weighing which candidate could beat Mamdani—and somehow, he landed on Cuomo, the scandal-plagued former governor who resigned in 2021 after numerous sexual harassment allegations.
Republicans have been openly panicking about Mamdani’s rise. John Catsimatidis, a Republican supermarket magnate and Trump ally, has even threatened to shut down his grocery chain if Mamdani wins.
“If the city of New York is going socialist, I will definitely close, or sell, or move or franchise the Gristedes locations,” Catsimatidis told FOX Business in June.
New York City Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani
Cuomo would undoubtedly benefit from a narrower field and has privately told donors he’s hopeful that Trump and GOP leaders will pressure Sliwa to drop out. Big business groups backing Adams could also swing to Cuomo if Adams exits.
But even a two-way race wouldn’t guarantee Cuomo’s victory. A July Zenith Research poll showed Mamdani leading by 28 points in the five-way race—and still ahead of Cuomo by double digits, 52-40%, in a hypothetical head-to-head among likely voters.
Among registered voters, the gap shrinks to three points, 46-43%, but Cuomo’s favorability issue remains significant; 60% of likely voters say they wouldn’t even consider voting for him.
In other words, Cuomo only has a puncher’s chance if several things fall into place: Adams and Sliwa both drop out—which is increasingly unlikely—business groups abandon Adams for Cuomo, and Cuomo somehow manages to boost turnout among lower-propensity moderate and conservative voters.
Meanwhile, Mamdani’s base is only getting more energized.
“I don’t care about who we will face in November. We’ll beat them all,” Mamdani said this week, accusing Trump of trying to “rig the rules” with backroom deals.
Mamdani’s campaign—rooted in rent justice and public investment—has become a magnet for young and progressive voters and a target for conservatives, including Trump and right-wing media. Mamdani has leaned into the attacks, claiming that they’re proof that “the powerful people are scared.”
Trump himself is another complication. He remains politically toxic in deep-blue New York City, and any hint that Cuomo is coordinating with him risks backfiring—handing Mamdani even more ammunition to run as the anti-establishment choice.
Adams, for his part, is still trying to project strength. Pressed on Wednesday about whether he’d leave for another job, he brushed off the speculation.
“I have been getting calls from private industries, from boards, from educational institutions. I am running for office,” he said. “I have more ribbons to cut before I finish up this term.”
But with Trump looming over the race, Cuomo plotting a comeback, and Mamdani dominating the polls, Adams’ denial may not be enough to silence the rumors—or stop the ground from shifting beneath him.
