'No dignity' in socialism: NYC Mayor Adams announces re-election bid after Mamdani wins Dem primary
Mayor Eric Adams announced his re-election campaign Thursday on the steps of New York City Hall, surrounded by supporters, union leaders and business partners, while protesters called him a "criminal" from across the park.
Adams was elected as a Democrat in 2021 but chose to run as an independent this year amid low approval ratings and his since-dropped federal corruption charges.
In Adams' absence, former Gov. Andrew Cuomo was widely expected to pick up the Democratic nomination in Tuesday's primary election, but 33-year-old self-proclaimed Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani shocked the political establishment when he declared victory.
"This is a city not of socialism," Adams said Thursday, in an apparent jab at Mamdani's radical policies, before adding, "There's no dignity in someone giving you everything for free. There's dignity in giving you a job, so you can provide for your family and the opportunities that you deserve. This is not a city of handouts. This is a city of hands up."
"I'm so proud to be here to say to the people of the city of New York, I am seeking re-election to be your mayor of the City of New York," Adams announced, as he touted his record during his first term as mayor.
Mamdani's primary victory Tuesday signals a shifting electorate in deep-blue New York City. Mamdani, whose campaign galvanized supporters on the ground and on social media, has proposed radical ideas, like government-run grocery stores, free bus service, tuition-free city universities, rent freezes and free childcare, among others.
"He's a snake-oil salesman," Adams said of Mamdani on "Fox & Friends" Wednesday. "He would say and do anything to get elected."
However, the incumbent mayor proclaimed on Thursday, "I'm not interested in Twitter politics. I'm interested in getting the trash picked up. I'm not interested in slogans. I'm interested in the solutions. I don't work with special interests. I work for the people."
Mamdani described his vision for New York City's future on Tuesday night as a place "where the mayor will use their power to reject Donald Trump's fascism, to stop mass ICE agents from deporting our neighbors and to govern our city as a model for the Democratic Party."
Meanwhile, Adams has built a reputation during his tenure for challenging President Joe Biden's immigration policies while vowing to coordinate with President Donald Trump's illegal immigration crackdown.
Adams has cozied up to Trump since he was elected in November, visiting both Mar-a-Lago and the White House. Trump's Justice Department dropped bribery, wire fraud and conspiracy charges against Adams earlier this year.
Gov. Kathy Hochul, D-N.Y., weighed removing Adams from office following a slew of City Hall resignations after Adams' case was dropped.
Adams' campaign launch was interrupted by protesters who called him a "f---ing criminal," but his supporters took to his defense Thursday, shouting back, "Four more years!"
"You can call me all the names you want, but I'm going to answer to only one: Mayor Adams," he clapped back.
Adams maintained his innocence throughout the legal proceedings, claiming the trial was politically motivated.
"Despite our pleas, when the federal government did nothing as its broken immigration policies overloaded our shelter system with no relief, I put the people of New York before party and politics. I always knew that if I stood my ground for all of you, that I would be a target — and a target I became," Adams said after his indictment on Sept. 27, 2024.
The dust has settled on Adams' DOJ probe, but his political future hangs in the balance ahead of November's election.
A Cuomo campaign aide signaled after the former three-term governor's concession speech Tuesday that he was leaving the door open for a possible run as a third-party or independent candidate in November.
"I want to look at all the numbers as they come in and analyze the rank choice voting. I will then consult with my colleagues on what is the best path for me to help the City of New York, as I have already qualified to run for mayor on an independent line in November," Cuomo said in a statement.
Cuomo resigned as governor in 2021 in the face of several scandals, including sexual harassment allegations and outstanding questions about his handling of COVID-19 in New York's nursing homes.
Former federal prosecutor Jim Walden is also running as an Independent, and Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa will once again be the Republican nominee in November's mayoral election.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Forbes
23 minutes ago
- Forbes
Crisis Averted—But What Was The Section 899 Revenge Tax Proposal?
WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 23: U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent delivers remarks during the ... More International Finance Institute Global Outlook Forum at the Willard InterContinental Washington on April 23, 2025 in Washington, DC. The forum is being held alongside the 2025 spring meetings of the World Bank Group (WBG) and International Monetary Fund (IMF). (Photo by) There are myriad ways to express displeasure with international tax policy: you can file a complaint at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), leverage a charm offensive, or, if you're looking for a quick fix, you can slap a retaliatory tax on foreign investors, spook the market, and call it a day. The Trump administration opted for the latter—albeit briefly—with the seemingly now-defunct Section 899 provision, branded by some as the 'revenge tax.' This provision, tucked into the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, levied a targeted tax meant to punish countries that impose 'discriminatory' taxes on American firms – particularly tech giants. Now however, after some handshakes and a flurry of posts on social media, it seems the revenge tax has been scrapped. Quietly scuttled, its political usefulness exhausted—for now. What Was the Section 899 'Revenge Tax?' At its core, Section 899 was a legislative jab aimed squarely at America's trading partners. Buried in the GOP's sweeping policy bill, the provision would have authorized the U.S. to impose punitive taxes on companies headquartered in countries that were, in the view of the Trump administration, treating American firms unfairly. The sweeping new section of the tax code would have been titled 'Enforcement of Remedies Against Unfair Foreign Taxes'—not exactly a subtle start. Section 899 didn't go after governments that it felt had treated U.S. firms unfairly, but instead targeted people and businesses with ties to 'discriminatory foreign countries.' That included foreign individuals, corporations not majority-owned by U.S. persons, private foundations and trusts, and just about any other foreign partnership or structure that Treasury didn't like the looks of. The goal was clear: foreign investors from offending jurisdictions were going to be made to feel real economic pain. The core mechanism was an annual ratcheting-up of tax rates by 5% on the U.S. income of 'applicable persons' – everything from dividends and royalties to capital gains and even real estate sales. Exceptions were few – the legislation even explicitly overrode Section 892, which exempts sovereign wealth funds from taxation. The triggering mechanism for the tax was any broadly-defined 'unfair foreign tax,' which included the Undertaxed Profits Rule from OECD's Pillar 2, Digital Services Taxes (DSTs), and any other tax Treasury later deemed discriminatory or deliberately burdensome to U.S. persons. In sum, it would have been sweeping. If passed, Section 899 would have been a weaponization of the tax code into a tool of transparent foreign policy enforcement. It would have marked a sea change in international tax policy, shifting tax rates away from economics and towards the punishment of deemed foreign policy sins. What Prompted this 'Revenge?' Likely the most salient policy shift that triggered this revenge tax was the OECD's Pillar 2. Championed by the Biden administration, Pillar 2 aims to impose a 15% global minimum tax on the profits of multinationals—regardless of where they are headquartered or what markets they serve. On paper, it was intended to end the race to the bottom of low-tax jurisdictions; in practice, it creates a complex web of policies and enforcement rules that can allow foreign governments to tax U.S. companies in situations where the U.S. does not. The Undertaxed Profits Rule allows other countries to claim the ability to tax if a company's home jurisdiction does not sufficiently tax its own domestic entities. Think of it as a foreign state saying, well, if you aren't going to tax your companies at 15%, we'll gladly make up the difference for you. To the Trump administration, this was unacceptable—a path to the European Union skimming revenue from American companies. The final straw was likely the imposition of DSTs—levies aimed at the revenue of tech giants like Meta and Google, often imposed by European countries that have grown tired of waiting for the U.S. to sign on to Pillar 2. Of course, countries considering and ultimately passing DSTs were merely exercising their right to tax American companies selling into their markets—but that is neither here nor there. Why Section 899 Was a Problem—And Why It Died For all its bluster, Section 899 had one main flaw: it was bad policy masquerading as tough politics. From the moment the bill hit the docket, or more accurately folks found it swimming around in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, alarms went off across the market. As it turns out, foreign investment doesn't like uncertainty. Section 899 would have injected a lot of uncertainty into the foreign investment market. The tax hikes weren't automatic, and there was no schedule that could be consulted by any one individual state; they turned on vague determinations like what was and wasn't an 'unfair tax.' Treasury could label a state a discriminatory foreign country based on opaque criteria and ramp up rates immediately—all without Congress lifting a finger. As is to be expected, trade groups warned of chilling effects on capital markets. Foreign governments viewed it as a backdoor sanctions regime. So it died – not with a bang, but with a post. Scott Bessent publicly called for the provision's removal, citing diplomatic progress. The death of the Revenge Tax doesn't mean this particular international tax skirmish is over, however, only that the battle was paused temporarily in favor of diplomacy. If global talks stall, or DSTs raise their heads again, no one should be surprised if a future Congress pulls out this playbook again.
Yahoo
25 minutes ago
- Yahoo
JB Pritzker takes aim at Trump in launching Democratic re-election bid for Illinois governor
Spotlighting his accomplishments and highlighting his pushback against President Donald Trump's sweeping and controversial agenda, Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Thursday launched his campaign for a third term as Illinois governor. "I'm ready for the fight ahead," the governor said, announcing his 2026 re-election bid in the blue state. Pritzker is a billionaire and a member of the Pritzker family that owns the Hyatt hotel chain. Pritzker said that "Illinois is standing at the center of the fight: the fight to make life more affordable, the fight to protect our freedoms, the fight for common sense." Head Here For The Latest Fox News Reporting And Opinion On Jb Pritzker Pritzker has become one of the Democratic Party's most vocal Trump critics during the opening months of the president's second tour in the White House. Pointing to Trump and the Republicans who control Congress, Pritzker argued that "in Washington, all they're offering is chaos and craziness. Their tariffs are hurting farmers and small businesses, stripping away health care from seniors and working families and proposing even bigger deficits than before, all to give big tax breaks to the wealthy." Read On The Fox News App Pritzker On Hot Seat As Illinois Governor Faces Off With Congressional Republicans On Capitol Hill "Donald Trump has made clear that he'll stop at nothing to get his way," the governor charged. "I'm not about to stand by and let him tear down all we're building in Illinois." Pritzker, who started several of his own venture capital and investment startups before running for office, touted that "we don't just talk about problems. In Illinois, we solve them." In another jab at Trump, Pritzker said, "We know government ought to stand up for working families and be a force for good, not a weapon of revenge." In his video, the governor touted that during his two terms in office, "we've balanced seven straight budgets and got nine credit upgrades. We raised the minimum wage, capped the cost of insulin, banned assault weapons, protected abortion rights, and eliminated the state grocery tax, lowered prescription drug costs and added tens of thousands of jobs." However, the Republican Governors Association (RGA) does not see it that way. "People are fleeing Illinois by the hundreds of thousands and Illinois families continue to suffer the consequences of JB Pritzker's abject record of failure at home while he spends his time on a national vanity project trying to further his own political career," RGA Rapid Response Director Kollin Crompton said in a statement to Fox News. Crompton also charged that "opportunities for working Illinois families are in the garbage, criminal illegal immigrants are protected over law-abiding citizens, and Pritzker's tax hikes are destroying family budgets." 21 Democrats Who May Try To Succeed Trump In The 2028 Presidential Election Illinois, which is the nation's sixth most populous state, does not have term limits for statewide officials. However, there has not been a three-term governor in the state in more than three decades, since GOP Gov. Jim Thompson won four terms as governor in the 1970s and 1980s. Pritzker is seen as a potential contender for the Democrats' 2028 presidential nomination – and the launch of his 2026 gubernatorial re-election campaign is not expected to derail him from potentially running for the White House. He was a high-profile campaign surrogate in the 2024 cycle on behalf of former President Joe Biden, as well as former Vice President Kamala Harris after she replaced Biden as the Democratic Party's nominee last summer. Click To Get The Fox News App Those efforts brought Pritzker to Nevada, a general election battleground state and an early-voting Democratic presidential primary state, and New Hampshire, which for a century has held the first-in-the-nation presidential primary. Additionally, Pritzker's return to New Hampshire this spring to headline a major state Democratic Party fundraising dinner sparked more speculation about a possible 2028 presidential article source: JB Pritzker takes aim at Trump in launching Democratic re-election bid for Illinois governor
Politico
30 minutes ago
- Politico
Dems punch back on ICE raids
Presented by California Resources Corporation SUITING UP: California lawmakers are moving to expedite protections for immigrants as ICE raids target Los Angeles and Southern California. Latino Caucus Chair Lena Gonzalez and AAPI Caucus Chair Mike Fong wrote a letter to Senate President Pro Tem Mike McGuire and Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas asking for a slate of eight bills to be 'fast tracked for rapid approval.' The letter, which Playbook exclusively obtained, highlights legislation that would make it harder for ICE agents to access schools and health care facilities, allow deported community college students to continue paying in-state tuition for online classes, prohibit employers from discriminating against workers facing deportation and bar federal law enforcement from wearing masks and otherwise shielding their identities. 'While we deeply respect the normal rules and timelines applicable to the passage of legislation, we believe that the federal government's brazen, if not illegal, actions create exigent circumstances that warrant special action,' the letter says. Before an explosive showdown in Los Angeles this month pulled Democrats back into the immigration debate, they had largely avoided the subject, spooked by how Republicans were able to wield border issues to their advantage in 2024. The Legislature this year devoted an additional $25 million in state funds to defend undocumented immigrants from deportation, detention and wage theft, but has been reticent to take the kinds of big swings in defense of immigrants as they did during President Donald Trump's first term. But the ICE raids in the Los Angeles area — and the accompanying protests that spurred Trump to deploy the National Guard — have activated lawmakers who feel the federal government is terrorizing the region's large immigrant population. Rivas and McGuire signaled support for Gonzalez and Fong's approach, calling the ICE raids 'egregious' and 'reckless' in statements to Playbook. 'All options are on the table and we'll be working with our Assembly partners on potential approaches,' McGuire said in a statement. Gonzalez and Fong want the bills to take effect immediately after they are signed into law, rather than on Jan. 1, which would require approval from two-thirds of the lawmakers in each house. A large swath of lawmakers is likely to support legislation pertaining to schools and health care institutions. But other measures — such as the law enforcement masking rules — are likely to face heavy opposition. San Francisco state Sen. Scott Wiener and Los Angeles state Sen. Sasha Renée Pérez authored complementary bills that would require law enforcement to uncover their faces and wear identification after masked, anonymous federal agents detained immigrants during raids. The senators are arguing the state has the authority to demand federal law enforcement abide by these standards. Pérez in her bill says the state 'must be able to distinguish between individuals who are lawfully exercising federal authority and those who are not.' 'California has a duty to insist that federal immigration enforcement officials follow the Constitution,' Gonzalez said in a statement. 'These bills would put real guardrails in place to protect residents' due process rights.' IT'S THURSDAY AFTERNOON. This is California Playbook PM, a POLITICO newsletter that serves as an afternoon temperature check on California politics and a look at what our policy reporters are watching. Got tips or suggestions? Shoot an email to lholden@ WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY WAGE-ING A WAR: Lawmakers are abandoning a last-minute budget provision on construction worker minimum wages after a major backlash from labor unions and environmental groups, this newsletter writer, Rachel Bluth and Eric He scooped this morning for POLITICO Pro subscribers. Two people close to negotiations told POLITICO the Legislature is dumping the proposal, which would have created a minimum wage for construction workers on certain types of residential projects. Newsom and legislative leaders argued the change would help spur housing construction. As we reported yesterday, the idea was angrily rebuffed by the State Building and Construction Trades Council and their allies, who argued the wage rules would undercut higher pay standards they've won through bargaining and past legislation. Environmental groups, meanwhile, attacked provisions that would loosen regulations around construction. The governor's office declined to comment on the decision by legislators to leave the proposed minimum wage out of the ongoing push to approve a series of budget-related bills before a Monday deadline. IN OTHER NEWS MEGABILL WOES: Senate Republicans are facing major new issues with their domestic policy megabill after the chamber's parliamentarian advised senators that several provisions they are counting on to reap hundreds of billions of dollars in budget savings won't be able to pass along party lines, our Meredith Lee Hill, Robert King and Jordain Carney report. Those include major pieces of Medicaid policy, including a politically explosive plan to hold down Medicaid costs by cracking down on a state provider tax — a provision that is expected to have a nine-figure impact on the bill. Republicans now will have to try to rewrite major sections of their Finance bill or potentially leave out key policies. The decisions were detailed in a Thursday morning memo from Democrats on the Senate Budget Committee. Other provisions now at risk include several GOP proposals to exclude undocumented residents from Medicaid, including by withholding federal funds from states that make them eligible for benefits. Meanwhile, Trump still wants the bill on his desk by July 4. PROP 36 LETDOWN: The organizations that lobbied for state money to implement tough-on-crime ballot measure Proposition 36 aren't exactly thrilled about what they're getting for it. 'This budget deal forces counties to implement Prop 36 for pennies on the dollar,' said Graham Knaus, California State Association of Counties CEO, in a statement. 'Californians deserve better.' As we reported yesterday for Pro subscribers, the spending plan developed by Newsom and legislative leaders includes $50 million for county behavioral health departments, $20 million for court costs and $15 million for pre-trial services, according to a legislative floor report, as well as $15 million for public defenders' general use. District attorney, law enforcement and probation groups have also shared their displeasure about the allocation, calling it 'a slap in the face to California voters and a blueprint for the failure of Proposition 36.' WHAT WE'RE READING TODAY — California has reported more measles cases this year than in 2024 as the U.S. grapples with its largest outbreak of the disease in decades. (Los Angeles Times) — Advocacy groups and some members of a California desert community expressed concern over a plan between ICE and a private prison contractor to turn a prison into the state's largest immigrant detention center. (The Guardian) — DHS said that immigration enforcement teams in Los Angeles and surrounding areas in Southern California arrested more than 1,600 immigrants between June 6-22. (Los Angeles Times) AROUND THE STATE — San Francisco supervisors reached a deal with Mayor Daniel Lurie that restores funding for roughly 100 threatened jobs and programs. (San Francisco Chronicle) — A newly released report by the Alameda County Civil Grand Jury pointed to flaws in how the area handles road maintenance. (East Bay Times) — Fresno County's top administrator was told to develop a new policy for what Pride Month observances and celebrations employees can recognize on the clock. (Fresno Bee) — compiled by Juliann Ventura
