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The New York City mayor took a combative tone in a speech to clergy members after several days of absence from public appearances.
Jan. 30, 2025Updated 3:00 p.m. ET
After several days of a self-enforced public quarantine for unexplained health reasons, Mayor Eric Adams re-emerged on Thursday, his spirits apparently improved.
The criminal case against him may be on the ropes: The Trump administration is discussing dropping the federal corruption charges against the mayor. And as he took the stage at an interfaith breakfast, a newly invigorated Mr. Adams sought to dispel rumors of any imminent resignation.
“Who started this stupid rumor that I’m resigning on Friday,” the mayor said in a fiery speech before hundreds of clergy members on Thursday. Some cheered him on. A clergyman at the podium chanted “four more years!” A smattering of audience members responded in kind.
He only briefly referenced the health issues his office has said kept him out of the public spotlight.
“Last week was a scary week for me, I’m not going to lie,” he said, without elaborating.
The mystery over his health and the discussions surrounding Mr. Adams’s criminal case have threatened to further destabilize a mayor’s race already mired in the uncertainty shrouding Mr. Adams’s fate.
Questions quickly followed on the heels of Wednesday’s news: Would the Department of Justice pressure the Southern District of New York to drop the charges, just weeks after the office said it had more evidence of “criminal conduct” by the mayor?
