Politics

/

ArcaMax

As Trump tariffs roil New Yorkers, Mayor Adams passes on addressing trade war, economy

Josephine Stratman, New York Daily News on

Published in Political News

NEW YORK — Mayor Eric Adams declined Tuesday to offer his thoughts on President Trump’s trade wars, federal funding cuts or the potential impact on New Yorkers amid criticism that the government’s move to dismiss his criminal indictment has left him overly beholden to the Trump administration.

Adams has said he will not publicly disparage Trump and instead bring concerns to the president directly, although at his weekly press briefing Tuesday he said that he hadn’t done so regarding the economic issues that have left New Yorkers anxiously wondering about everything from their electric bills to 401(k) plans.

The mayor also declined to offer an opinion on ICE’s arrest and detention of Mahmoud Khalil, a former Columbia grad student targeted because of his involvement in pro-Palestinian protests. Khalil’s arrest has sparked outrage and protests across the city.

“No, I haven’t had those conversations with him about these,” Adams said on Monday when asked whether he had spoken with Trump on the economic issues.

“Anything that affects New Yorkers concerns me,” Adams said in response to a question about whether he was concerned about the tariffs at the press conference Monday.

But, he continued, “That’s the role of the federal government. I don’t control that, and I think that the federal government will just make the determination on what, how that plays out.”

Adams is facing allegations that he’s been compromised after the Justice Department moved to drop his federal corruption indictment in February on the basis that it held the mayor back from assisting with some of Trump’s policy objectives, particularly immigration. The department proposed the case be dismissed without prejudice, meaning it could be reinstated.

In a filing last week, an independent attorney appointed by the judge in Adams’ case wrote that to dismiss his case without prejudice — so that it could be brought back at any point — left a “sword of Damocles” hanging over Adams.

The judge in the case is currently weighing a decision.

The mayor has both denied the charges in the indictment and that there was any quid pro quo between him and the president.

 

When asked Tuesday if his response to Khalil’s arrest was further fueling concerns he’s overly beholden to Trump, Adams accused his critics of being “unwilling” to fight for New Yorkers, saying they didn’t back him up when the city was dealing with the migrant crisis, which he blames on the Biden administration.

“Listen, I got opinions about a lot of things, but my opinion cannot govern the public safety of the city,” the mayor said, adding that the decision to deport is up to the federal government and that the city does not cooperate with ICE on civil enforcement efforts.

The mayor has also faced backlash for not speaking out on other issues involving the Trump administration, including controversial executive orders, and has told other city officials not to speak out against Trump themselves on social media.

Along with the rest of the nation, New York is facing economic uncertainty under the Trump administration on multiple fronts.

After the president escalated a trade war against Canada this week, doubling down on tariffs, the stock market sank. The province of Ontario imposed a 25% electricity surcharge on New York and two other states following similar tariffs from Trump on products imported from Canada on Monday. It’s unclear how much New York City would be impacted by Canada’s move or the other tariffs.

The surcharge was suspended Tuesday, allowing the conflict to cool off a bit. Trump backed down on a threat to farther increase the Canadian tariffs.

Budget experts have also flagged potential federal funding cuts that could slash Medicaid, SNAP and immigration funding.

“Anytime you look to cut anything, there’s an advocacy group who wants to fight against it,” Adams said at his press briefing.

_____


©2025 New York Daily News. Visit nydailynews.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

 

Comments

blog comments powered by Disqus

 

Related Channels

ACLU

ACLU

By The ACLU
Amy Goodman

Amy Goodman

By Amy Goodman
Armstrong Williams

Armstrong Williams

By Armstrong Williams
Austin Bay

Austin Bay

By Austin Bay
Ben Shapiro

Ben Shapiro

By Ben Shapiro
Betsy McCaughey

Betsy McCaughey

By Betsy McCaughey
Bill Press

Bill Press

By Bill Press
Bonnie Jean Feldkamp

Bonnie Jean Feldkamp

By Bonnie Jean Feldkamp
Cal Thomas

Cal Thomas

By Cal Thomas
Christine Flowers

Christine Flowers

By Christine Flowers
Clarence Page

Clarence Page

By Clarence Page
Danny Tyree

Danny Tyree

By Danny Tyree
David Harsanyi

David Harsanyi

By David Harsanyi
Debra Saunders

Debra Saunders

By Debra Saunders
Dennis Prager

Dennis Prager

By Dennis Prager
Dick Polman

Dick Polman

By Dick Polman
Erick Erickson

Erick Erickson

By Erick Erickson
Froma Harrop

Froma Harrop

By Froma Harrop
Jacob Sullum

Jacob Sullum

By Jacob Sullum
Jamie Stiehm

Jamie Stiehm

By Jamie Stiehm
Jeff Robbins

Jeff Robbins

By Jeff Robbins
Jessica Johnson

Jessica Johnson

By Jessica Johnson
Jim Hightower

Jim Hightower

By Jim Hightower
Joe Conason

Joe Conason

By Joe Conason
Joe Guzzardi

Joe Guzzardi

By Joe Guzzardi
John Micek

John Micek

By John Micek
John Stossel

John Stossel

By John Stossel
Josh Hammer

Josh Hammer

By Josh Hammer
Judge Andrew Napolitano

Judge Andrew Napolitano

By Judge Andrew P. Napolitano
Laura Hollis

Laura Hollis

By Laura Hollis
Marc Munroe Dion

Marc Munroe Dion

By Marc Munroe Dion
Michael Barone

Michael Barone

By Michael Barone
Michael Reagan

Michael Reagan

By Michael Reagan
Mona Charen

Mona Charen

By Mona Charen
Oliver North and David L. Goetsch

Oliver North and David L. Goetsch

By Oliver North and David L. Goetsch
R. Emmett Tyrrell

R. Emmett Tyrrell

By R. Emmett Tyrrell
Rachel Marsden

Rachel Marsden

By Rachel Marsden
Rich Lowry

Rich Lowry

By Rich Lowry
Robert B. Reich

Robert B. Reich

By Robert B. Reich
Ruben Navarrett Jr

Ruben Navarrett Jr

By Ruben Navarrett Jr.
Ruth Marcus

Ruth Marcus

By Ruth Marcus
S.E. Cupp

S.E. Cupp

By S.E. Cupp
Salena Zito

Salena Zito

By Salena Zito
Star Parker

Star Parker

By Star Parker
Stephen Moore

Stephen Moore

By Stephen Moore
Susan Estrich

Susan Estrich

By Susan Estrich
Ted Rall

Ted Rall

By Ted Rall
Terence P. Jeffrey

Terence P. Jeffrey

By Terence P. Jeffrey
Tim Graham

Tim Graham

By Tim Graham
Tom Purcell

Tom Purcell

By Tom Purcell
Veronique de Rugy

Veronique de Rugy

By Veronique de Rugy
Victor Joecks

Victor Joecks

By Victor Joecks
Wayne Allyn Root

Wayne Allyn Root

By Wayne Allyn Root

Comics

Scott Stantis Andy Marlette Eric Allie Lisa Benson A.F. Branco Joel Pett