New York City Mayor shot down “stupid” resignation speculation during his address of religious leaders in Midtown Manhattan.
“Who started the stupid rumor that I was stepping down on Friday? Are you out of your mind?” Adams said Thursday during the annual Interfaith Breakfast as the crowd unleashed a loud applause.
“And you know what’s fascinating, you have to be of a great level of wisdom to understand what is playing out on the stage of politics in New York City,” he added. “You gotta focus on this, folks. How do you print a rumor that I’m resigning on Friday, but don’t print the facts that we had more jobs in the city’s history on that same day.”
“Not one tabloid covered it.”
The rumors about Adams’ possible resignation have bubbled up this week, with former City Councilmember Sal Albanese writing in a Tuesday night post that the mayor “is cutting a deal with Feds & resigning in 72 hours.”
The speculation came as senior officials at the Department of Justice (DOJ) spoke with federal prosecutors about possibly dropping the corruption case against Adams, The New York Times reported on Wednesday, citing five people with knowledge of the matter. Adams was indicted on corruption charges in late September last year.
Adams has been out of the public eye for several days as wasn’t “been feeling his best” lately and had doctor’s appointments and “routine medical tests, according to Fabien Levy, his spokesman, who shared the update on Sunday.
On Thursday, Adams sparsely touched on his health, saying last week “was a scary week for me. It was hard,” but he did not discuss the upcoming trial. He pleaded not guilty and has denied any wrongdoing.
The New York City mayor has gotten closer to President Trump in recent weeks, which has alarmed some Democrats who are unsure about his motives. Adams met with Trump at Mar-a-Lago ahead of the president’s Jan. 20 inauguration.
Trump has previously said that he would consider pardoning the mayor, arguing he was treated “pretty unfairly” by prosecutors.
