Transcript: Mayor Adams Appears on Fox News’ “The Story With Martha Maccallum”

December 18, 2024

Martha Maccallum: Now, with New York City Mayor Eric Adams, we sat down today at City Hall. He is the first big city mayor to sit down with the incoming borders czar against really the wishes of his own city leaders, saying he will work with the Trump White House to deport migrant criminals from his city and his message to fellow Democrats to wake up after their sweeping 2024 election losses.  

We had a big election obviously in November of 2024 and a lot of prominent Democrats who are speaking out of what they're referring to as a real wake up call for your party. Let's watch some of these voices and then I want to get your reaction there. 

[Video plays.] 

Van Jones: Donald Trump is not an idiot. You know why we know? Because he has the White House, the Senate, the House, totally agree or the popular vote. 

Stephen Smith: Democrats you lost. You got your butts whipped on it. Live with it. Accept it.  

Host: I don't even know what the Democratic Party is at this particular moment. They don't seem to have a real sense of direction at this point. 

[Video ends.] 

Maccallum: So Trump won by 11 points in the Bronx and in Queens. He cut in half Biden's lead in New York. What do you say to what these individuals are saying? Do you agree with them? 

Mayor Eric Adams: Wholeheartedly. We stopped speaking to people. We started speaking at people. I think I like to say it's a cryptocurrency moment. You know, when I first started, I said I was going to invest in cryptocurrency. People laughed at me. Who's laughing now?  

When I first got elected in 2022, I told the party it's public safety. People are tired of the revolving door where people are constantly committing violent crimes and back on our streets. We ignored it. I talked about the affordability issue. I talked about the migrants [and] asylum seeker[s] issue.  

I mean, Iowa caucus showed that as that is one of the top issues. Not hearing the people and you engaging in dialogue while individuals are fearful of affordability, losing their homes, the future of their children, and you having these intellectual conversations and people are like saying, what the hell are you talking about? I'm hurting. And you're asking, is Donald Trump Hitler or not? It's just not talking to the real needs of people. 

Maccallum: So you have been strong on those issues. I look back at the things that you were saying over the years, obviously you spent decades as a New York City police officer, but when you came into office, you were asked on ABC if you were concerned that being a sanctuary city was going to create a magnet to  

New York. And here's what you said. 

[Video plays.] 

Mayor Adams: Not at all. The city has always been a sanctuary city and we've always managed those who wanted to come to a New York City to pursue the American dream. 

[Video ends.] 

Maccallum: But now, you know, people see Tren De Aragua in Times Square. They see gang members and criminals who are getting arrested and getting released, put back out on the street, $6.6 billion on migrants in New York City. People complain that the city is dirty. What do you say to those who say that that your turn on this and you're sitting down with Tom Homan last week and talking about making a safer New York, came too late? 

Mayor Adams: This is why this is so important to be able to not have a bumper sticker understanding of a policy and a person's belief, but engaging in real conversations, which we don't do that much often anymore. Sanctuary city is totally different from a man-made crisis that we saw.  

This is what sanctuary city states. If you're in this city and you are paying taxes, you buy a loaf of bread, you pay taxes. Those are your tax dollars. You have a right to the services of the city. You have a right to the police officers. You should not be fearful to put your children in school and get health care. That's what a sanctuary city is.  

What a sanctuary city is not, is having an unsecured border and allowing gang members to come in, paroling people into the country when you're telling them you can't work for six months or a year and you have to be dependent on the local cities to take care of you.  

We're saying that as a sanctuary city, if you're here and you are participating legally, you are provided the services as you start your path away to get citizenship or legal status. This has always been what took place in this city, but it is not a safe haven for those who are committing criminal acts or trying to harm migrants, asylum seekers, and other New Yorkers. 

Maccallum: Well, you see what Tren De Aragua is doing in Aurora, Colorado, torturing 15 people, taking over at least a couple of apartment buildings there. What do you say to the people of your city who feel like this is out of control? You've got 11 percent of the Manhattan hotel rooms are occupied right now by migrants. And a lot of people out there, despite what you say about the situation, think that you let it go too far. 

Mayor Adams: And listen, they were angry and many of them were angry because they didn't understand. They said, Eric, what are you doing? Why are you allowing these buses to come in? Hey, I can't stop them from coming in. That's against federal law.  

Well, why don't you let them work like all immigrants have done and found their way? Federal government told me, Eric, you can't allow them to work. You know what, Eric? You can't even allow them to volunteer to clean the streets, remove graffiti, and give them a stipend. That's against federal law.  

And then I have city law that told me there's a right to shelter law. Anyone that comes in this city, anywhere on the globe, can come here and get shelter for as long as they want. I had to go to court and fight that and give a 30 and 60 day notification. That's how we dropped 220,000 that came here to now 50,000 because we said you only going to stay in our shelter for 30 days. And we were fought on that.  

And so, yes, people were angry. They saw the headlines. Look what our mayor is doing. But in reality, the mayor was handcuffed. So what I had to do was make sure my police protected those who were the victims of these crimes and made sure that I had to follow the housing laws that were in place but while we fought them in court. 

Maccallum: So you have butted heads with your City Council a lot on the things that you wanted to change. Their chamber is right down the hall here. You must run into each other all the time in these halls. Other mayors are taking a different tact.  

Brandon Johnson in Chicago and the mayor of Boston saying we will not bend or break to the Trump mass deportation rule. This is what people in the City Council meeting. These are residents in Chicago. Here's what they're saying about their mayor's stance on this. Watch this. 

[Video plays.] 

Chicago Resident: You caused all this money to go to illegal immigrants. We want a forensic audit of the money that was spent on illegal immigration.  

Chicago Resident: Can you do the job, Mr. Brandon Johnson? And it's looking like you can't do the job. We need to start voting different in these cities like New York and Chicago. 

[Video ends.] 

Maccallum: That last voice, we have to start voting differently in these cities like New York and Chicago. Do you see a movement happening in cities when you look at what happened in the election? And are these voices going to change these blue cities potentially into red ones? 

Mayor Adams: That's a good question. And that's why I believe that the Democratic Party must ensure that they're listening to the voices of the people.  

The American people, they spoke loudly and clearly, and they stated that we have to secure our borders. We have to deal with the immigration crisis, and we have to address those violent individuals who come to this country. It's a privilege and a right to be in America, and if you violate that, you should not be in this country. That number of people, which I believe is a small number, committing those violent acts like the gangs that we've mentioned, should not be here. 

Maccallum: So let's talk about the gangs. Let's talk about what you agreed to with Tom Homan. Violent criminals will be deported under the Trump mass deportation. What constitutes a violent criminal is that someone who is accused, someone who has been convicted, someone who wears gang tattoos? Where do you draw the line? Did you make that line with him? 

Mayor Adams: No, we did not. I thought our conversation was a great conversation, Tom, and I both sat down, and we both agree on violent individuals should not remain in our country. We have laws here in the city on how that could be handled.  

My legal team is going to sit down with his legal team to make the determination if an executive order can change that. One of the things he would like to have is access to Rikers Island. That's the jail in our city. The law that was passed under the previous administration said that no ICE officer can be in any governmental building.  

There are exceptions to that. We're looking at those exceptions. That's my core issue. I've said it prior to the election. We can't allow people to come into the country or the city committing violent acts, and those numbers who are doing it, we need to address that. And I'm happy to have a partner in Tom, to see how do we address that in a real way. 

Maccallum: So is our gang tattoos that are TDA enough to get someone removed in that first group? 

Mayor Adams: No, it's not. No, it's not. And because we've got to also ensure that we're not violating the laws of our land. And the mere fact someone is wearing a gang tattoo, which is an identifiable marker of this gang, is not enough to say, okay, you have a gang tattoo, now you must be removed.  

But what we should be doing at our border, we could be making that determination. How are we going to allow you to come in? We're allowing people to come in. Think about this for a moment. We're allowing people to come in without a sponsor, without any employment, and we're telling them you can't work. So what are they going to do? We're creating a pipeline of criminality by creating these terrible criteria. 

Maccallum: Are you going to find a way through executive orders to allow ICE to function in this city, to carry out deportations? 

Mayor Adams: We're going to allow them to the areas where we can allow them to do. Right now, I could allow ICE to come into Rikers Island, anything but for deportation. But, allowing them access to do criminal investigation is going to help us all.  

But we're going to sit down with our attorneys and see what executive orders I can do to give me more power to go after those who are creating illegal acts. Now we're going to also, I want to be very clear, we're going to also tell those who are following the law, doing the right thing, here's the pathway to participate in citizenship and utilize the services that the taxes you are paying for allow you to utilize. 

Maccallum: So let's go back. When you started to realize that 200,000 people was too many, you said this could destroy New York City. What was the reaction that you got at the White House when you asked for help? 

Mayor Adams: When we saw the numbers coming in, we were getting at one time almost 8,000 a week, 16,000 every two weeks. I mean, we could just do the math, unsustainable. And at that time, the right to shelter, we were being sued by advocates that required us to give everyone a bed by a certain number of times. We were getting buses 2, 3 a.m. in the morning. And we reached out to the White House, 10 trips to Washington, D.C., asking them for help in securing the border and stopping this flow.  

I went down to El Paso and also went down to the Darien Gap, and I saw the flow and the threat that we were receiving. We didn't get the support. We got $200 million out of a $6.5 billion deficit. And so many people believe that, okay, Eric, it's in your rearview mirror. It happened already. You've got $170,000 now.  

No. The damage that we are going to see long-term from spending $6.5 billion, $200 million could have gone to those chronically absent children. We could have put $100 million into the senior care, helping people with medical debt relief. So when you start to look at the long-term impact of the services we did not provide, it's going to start materializing in the years to come. That is the destruction that I was talking about. 

Maccallum: So when you had that pushback from the White House, they stopped returning your phone calls? 

Mayor Adams: Prior to this crisis, I asked the president to come to New York City when we were having a crime problem, a gun problem. He came here and met with our law enforcement. We had a continuous conversation with the White House about all these important issues.  

When this issue happened, and we asked for assistance over and over again, and I refused to remain silent while I was watching this city harm, we no longer received the support that we deserved. We no longer had an opportunity to communicate with the president. It was a clear statement from the White House that they didn't appear to be happy that I was standing up for the city. And other mayors should do that. Look at what happened in these other cities, Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles, Houston. Cities should not be taking away the resources from their residents to handle a national crisis. 

Maccallum: So they got a big nothing in return to phone calls to the White House once the crisis started unfolding and the mayor was standing up to it. Now coming up, he's going to respond to President-elect Trump, who he has built a better relationship. There are bridges that are potentially being built there. And the president-elect said this, watch.  

[Video plays.] 

Question: Would you consider pardoning Eric Adams? 

President-Elect Donald Trump: Yeah, I would, I am. 

[Video ends.] 

[Commercial break.] 

Maccallum: Now more of my exclusive interview with New York City Mayor Eric Adams. What he says about his federal charges, he believes that they could be possible political payback and a potential pardon. Also an issue we talked about from President-elect Trump. Also the emotional moment when we talked about what's going on in his life, his family and where he comes from.  

You seem to be saying that there's a connection between the indictments that you have received for bribery and conspiracy to solicit foreign donations and your pushback against this administration, the Biden-Harris administration. You said something about this the other day and held up a newspaper. There's that moment. 

[Video plays.] 

Mayor Adams: I'm just a fighter. I believe in fighting for my rights and this is the hardest thing I've ever done in my entire life of the onslaught of this and I have to remain silent. But you cannot ignore the fact because I know I read a little fast. President Biden and President-elect Donald Trump now agree on one thing, the Biden Justice Department has been politicized. Now you know if this is in the New York Times, it has to be true. 

[Video ends.] 

Maccallum: Do you believe that the Biden Justice Department came after you and many of the people that work for you because of your pushback on immigration? 

Mayor Adams: I clearly believe when you looked at aspects of the indictment and you look at the timing of this and the manner, the leaks, there were just so many leaks. I'm a former law enforcement officer. When you conduct an investigation, you're not leaking out repeatedly of information that clearly only the Justice Department was aware of. Just the manner in which this was done is clearly suspect to me.  

My attorney is handling this and it takes a lot of discipline when you are really watching some of this unfold and not wanting to and not responding the way you want to respond. Those who have known me and followed me know I believe in fighting for what I believe is right and the president said it.  

The president of the United States said his Justice Department is politicized. Donald Trump said it. Eric Adams said it. The parents who are on the FBI watch list for standing up for their children, they're saying it. There's something wrong and we need to make sure that we don't use any tool of law enforcement in a way to politicize the process. 

Maccallum: So this is very much ongoing. Just a couple days ago, one of your closest aides and chief advisors, Ingrid Lewis Martin, resigned. Her attorney says that they expect that she will be indicted this week. Charges of improper gifts, most likely. They don't know exactly what the charges are going to be. She said she was innocent.  

Winnie Greco, who is believed to have had strong ties to the Chinese government, is also on that list, another close associate of yours. The FBI has taken their phones, has investigated their houses, searched their houses. Do you have concerns about what the FBI and this investigation may uncover? 

Mayor Adams: No, and all of them have attorneys and I don't want to do anything to jeopardize their cases. But I tell my team, and I do so, we follow the law. It's about following the law. I didn't spend 22 years as a police officer enforcing a law to break the law. We follow the law and constituent services and ensuring that constituents are not caught up in a bottleneck of government should not be interpreted in any way as breaking the law. 

Maccallum: Does that include foreign countries and consulate approvals? 

Mayor Adams: Well, when you're here in New York as a consul general and ambassador, you are a constituent. You're part of the constituency of New York City. And we need to ensure that you're receiving your proper services as a constituent of New York City. 

Maccallum: Are you concerned that any of these individuals are going to flip, turn evidence against you, Mayor Adams? 

Mayor Adams: The only way you could be concerned about that, if there's evidence to turn against you. I did not break the law. I did nothing wrong. That is how I live my life. And that is how I'm going to continue to live my life. 

Maccallum: So President Trump was asked if he would consider pardoning you the other day. And here's what he said. 

[Video plays.] 

Question: Would you consider pardoning Eric Adams?  

President-Elect Trump: Yeah, I would. I think that he was treated pretty unfairly. Now, I haven't seen the gravity of it all, but it seems, you know, like being upgraded in an airplane many years ago. I know probably everybody here has been upgraded. 

[Video ends.] 

Maccallum: Have you asked for the president-elect to pardon you? 

Mayor Adams: I did not ask him that. In our conversations, we both expressed our love for the city. And you know, the years he was in office, they were combatted. I'm working with the president and his administration, not warring with him. I say that quote over and over again. And my attorney is an excellent attorney. He's going to handle every avenue to pursue justice. I should not have been charged. No American should go through what I'm going through right now. This country believes in fairness. And what I'm experiencing is not only a professional tragedy, it's a personal tragedy. 

Maccallum: Just two last questions for you. A lot of what you say makes you sound more conservative. You were a Republican in the past. Do the things that we've talked about and your reflections on this election make you feel that maybe you want to go back to being a Republican? 

Mayor Adams: I ran as a Democrat, and I think Democrats have different philosophies and ways of thinking. We're not monolithic in our thoughts. And I'm going to rerun as a Democrat. I ran as a senator as a Democrat and a borough president as a Democrat. But I [can] say in my true blueness, I'm true blue-collar. I believe in America. I believe what we stand for, our way of life. I'm fearful of the radicalizing of our children who no longer love this country the way we ought to.  

But I am an American, and I cannot be clearer on that. And American people have stated we're tired of our public officials going back and forth arguing while we are in a state of despair. My attention will continue to be on working class Americans in general, but specifically here in New York, like taking away personal income taxes for those who are low wages, making sure we have child care, excusing medical debt. Those are the things I want to focus on. Because my family was betrayed by the ignoring of those services that we should be delivering. And I don't want to do that to another generation. 

Maccallum: You talk about the important role of faith in your life. You've been facing a lot over the past year. How does that sustain you? 

Mayor Adams: The power of prayer. I use the terminology GPS. People use it for their vehicles. I use it for my life. I turn on my God positioning satellite every morning. And when I drop to my knees and I give thanks to him, and I know that we're going to meet challenges and I say it all the time.  

I cannot tell you, you know, I have six siblings and my mother loved all of them, but she just adored me. I was her favorite child and I used to get up in the morning and I used to hear mommy in her bedroom crying, not knowing if she was going to be able to feed us and keep a roof on her head. But 8 a.m. in the morning, she got up. 

Maccallum: And she bought a home for your family, working hard as a person cleaning houses. All this that's happened, you want to be mayor for another term, Mayor Adams? And can you beat Andrew Cuomo, the former governor, if he comes back and runs against you in the Democrat primary in June? 

Mayor Adams: They asked me the same thing when Andrew Yang got in the race and he was beating me by 12 points. They don't call Andrew Yang mayor. They call me mayor. I believe my faith is strong. 

Maccallum: You can beat Andrew Cuomo, in the primary? 

Mayor Adams: I'm going to beat whoever's in the race to continue to move this city forward. 

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