Eric Adams Launches Reelection Bid, Blasts Socialist Challenger Mamdani

New York City Mayor Eric Adams came out swinging Thursday as he kicked off his reelection campaign not as a Democrat, but as an independent and delivered a pointed rebuke to the city’s rising socialist fringe led by radical Zohran Mamdani.

“This is a city not of socialism,” Adams told supporters from the steps of City Hall. “There’s no dignity in someone giving you everything for free. There’s dignity in giving you a job.”

• Adams took direct aim at Mamdani, the Democratic Socialist of America-backed candidate who stunned party insiders by clinching the Democratic mayoral nomination.

• Mamdani’s proposals include a $30/hour minimum wage, free public transit, rent freezes, government-run grocery stores, and $65 million for transgender surgeries and hormone drugs.

• Adams, who presides over a $115 billion city budget and 330,000 government workers, denounced Mamdani as a “snake-oil salesman” pushing handouts over hard work.

“I’ve been to socialist countries,” Adams added. “This is a city where you can go from homelessness to building houses. It’s a city of hands up, not handouts.”

This isn’t just a rhetorical battle it’s shaping up to be a full-blown ideological war for the future of New York City. Mamdani, backed by AOC’s far-left coalition, wants to transform the Big Apple into a socialist experiment. Adams, despite his past as a Democrat, is now positioning himself as a bulwark against that radical wave.

“I’m not interested in slogans. I’m interested in solutions,” Adams said. “I wasn’t born into power and privilege. I was born into struggle.”

Also in the race is Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa, the Guardian Angels founder and longtime anti-crime advocate. Former Governor Andrew Cuomo is reportedly mulling an independent run as well, making this one of the most unpredictable and high-stakes elections in modern New York City history.

As Mamdani pushes fantasy economics and identity politics, Adams is leaning into his blue-collar story and warning New Yorkers about the dangers of letting ideologues hijack the city.

With crime still high, taxes through the roof, and residents fleeing in droves, the last thing New York needs is socialism. Adams may not be perfect but Mamdani would be a disaster.

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