NYC Mayor Adams defends language criticized as racially insensitive, decries ‘lynch mob mentality'
NEW YORK — Mayor Eric Adams, facing calls to resign amid controversy over the Trump DOJ's move to dismiss his federal corruption indictment, defended himself Monday against accusations he used racially insensitive language in recent comments about fellow Black politicians and said he's being targeted by a political 'lynch mob.'
In a press conference at City Hall, the mayor was asked why he thought it was appropriate last week to label Black politicians who have urged him to resign 'Negroes' in need of saving from God.
'Well, those Negroes knew they were wrong,' Adams replied.
The mayor, who made the remark in question at a Black History Month celebration at Gracie Mansion last Tuesday, suggested there's nothing offensive about the phrase.
'Why are we trying to classify the term Negro as being a derogatory term?' he said, noting there are organizations with names that include the term, such as the United Negro College Fund.
Conversely, Adams said the outrage should actually be about the mounting calls for him to resign or be removed from office.
'Those who are elected in office who are aware of the rules are saying, 'He needs to be removed, he needs to step down' — that's what we should be angry about,' he said. 'Where is the process that we're supposed to follow instead of this sort of lynch mob mentality? That's what we should be angry about, we have witnessed a lynch mob mentality before.'
City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, state Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins and other prominent Black elected officials said late last month that he should step down.
The demands come as President Trump's Department of Justice is seeking to dismiss the mayor's corruption indictment with the understanding that it could be resurrected as early as November, an unusual caveat that both critics and allies say make him beholden to Trump. Adams has said there was no quid pro quo with the Justice Department.
In a formal dismissal request, which is pending approval from a federal judge, Trump's DOJ wrote that the president expects quashing Adams' criminal case will enable the mayor to help facilitate Trump's agenda, including his vow to target undocumented New Yorkers for 'mass deportations.'
Adams' controversial comments came at last Tuesday's Gracie Mansion event, where he said he was going through 'a biblical moment.'
'When Jesus was on the cross, he said, 'God forgive them for they know not what they do.' All these Negroes who are asking me to step down, God forgive them,' he said.
Black leaders, including Harlem pastor and civil rights advocate Johnnie Green, said last week the mayor's use of the racial phrase in that context was deeply insensitive.
Merriam Webster, the dictionary, labels the phrase 'Negro' as 'dated' and 'often offensive.'
Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, a vocal Adams critic who is Black, said his reference to a 'lynch mob' Monday was likewise offensive.
'The second Black mayor in our history is actively undoing the decades of progress it took to elect even the first. It's deeply disrespectful to both the leaders who worked to get us here and people who hope to carry us forward,' Williams said.
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