As Matt covered earlier, New York City Mayor Eric Adams could be removed from his post, a move Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-NY) is considering. The move comes as Adams has dared to cooperate with the feds on enforcing laws on immigration, and as the Department of Justice (DOJ) has called for the corruption case against the mayor to be dropped, though one incident has appeared to irk the mayor more than the other. The story has garnered even more attention, as Reverend Al Sharpton had a meeting with the governor.
Al Sharpton arrives at Gov. Hochul’s Manhattan office for a meeting on the possible removal of Mayor Eric Adams. pic.twitter.com/9XLwmcCMKQ
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) February 18, 2025
Nothing screams “Democracy!” like removing the duly-elected mayor of America’s largest city because he will work with the President to remove illegal immigrants.
— 🇺🇸 Mike Davis 🇺🇸 (@mrddmia) February 18, 2025
The Trump 47 Justice Department should bring harboring charges (8 U.S.C. 1324) against @GovKathyHochul. https://t.co/exGs6sYVTL
Sharpton spoke to the media about such a meeting, sharing his remarks over his X account. The reverend is known for going on MSNBC to rant and rave against President Donald Trump, and he sure enough mentioned the president during his remarks.
The reverend shared that he met with the governor for about half an hour, during which he "expressed to her [his] concern about what is going on in this city and this state." The city has been particularly hit hard by illegal immigrant and rampant crime, with DA Alvin Bragg and his office soft on violent crimes, preferring instead to go after Trump and heroic bystanders like Daniel Penny. And yet, that's not what Sharpton wanted to talk about.
"Let's make no mistake about it, that we are in this position because President Trump, who pardoned people that were videotapped physically assaulting people on January 6th," Sharpton instead went with. "If he really felt that--that, uh, Eric Adams would become a subject to a political vendetta, which is what his defense says, then why didn't he pardon him?" Trump has said he'd consider pardoning the mayor.
"Now to make it clear, I'm not asking for a pardon. I'm talking about the inconsistency that led to this," Sharpton continued from there. "The only reason that we are late facing a court hearing tomorrow, the only reason that the governor has to make a decision to do something or not do something that has not been done in 235 years, is because there was a double standard used on Eric Adams' case, that those that he claims he believed, uh, were victims. I do not believe that he, uh, should have gotten a pardon, but I believe that Donald Trump has been inconsistent."
Judge Dale E. Ho will consider the government's request to drop the case against Mayor on Wednesday, as The New York Times reported.
It's rather rich that Sharpton wants to talk about "a double standard," or being "inconsistent," given how Bragg relentlessly prosecuted Trump. He charged him with felonies in the case when he could have brought the charges as misdemeanors, was using an untested legal theory, and after the statute of limitations had expired. Even upon Trump being elected, prosecutors still insisted that Judge Juan Merchan not dismiss the hush money case against him.
Sharpton's remarks also tellingly keep coming back to ranting against the president.
The reverend did bring up where the governor stands on this, which is that she'll wait and see. "Having said that, the governor said to me that she's going to see what the judge decides tomorrow, and keep, uh, deliberating with other leaders. My feeling is that the faith of the, uh, city, people have been shaken, and there needs to be a resolve, but at the same time we must protect the law and not establish a precedent that could come back to haunt us."
Almost immediately, Sharpton was peppered with questions from multiple reporters at once, all asking the same thing, which is whether he thinks Adam should "be removed?" The reverend claimed "he just answered that," adding they're "going to wait and see what the judge says tomorrow," so as to "not set a precedent..." Moments later, Sharpton still stood by his wait and see approach when a reporter asked what should be done with Adams if the charges are dropped.
When taking another question, Sharpton mentioned that he's "concerned about, uh, the state of the city, and--and--and whether we can continue," though again that has to do with illegal immigration and crime, worsened by Democrats in this blue city and state. Speaking more about the city, Sharpton also emphasized his view that "the distraction, I think, is very, very damaging to the city."
Sharpton went on to further mention how he's "very much" one of those people "concerned" for the city, though it wasn't because of illegal immigration, rather it was because of those trying to do something about it, such as Tom Homan, this administration's border czar. Mentioning the "rights of people in the city," Sharpton didn't mean the right to not be victimized by an illegal immigrant, but rather for illegal immigrants. "I'm very concerned that, uh, um, Mr. Homan came in here and acted like he could make, uh, um, Adams do what he wants, so he'd be up his butt," again emphasizing how he's "very concerned." Sharpton framed it as "a very serious issue," but again from the perspective in favor of illegal immigrants, as he lamented that "we're talking about families being separated."
“Reverend Al Sharpton met privately with Governor Kathy Hochul about Mayor Eric Adams’ future. He spoke to the media outside of her office after their meeting.”- https://t.co/YhM0a5dize pic.twitter.com/VJvVjFC9AR
— Reverend Al Sharpton (@TheRevAl) February 18, 2025
What replies there are to the reverend's post question why Sharpton feels the need to insert himself into such a decision, given that he wasn't elected to anything. Adams has made it clear he's not going anywhere on its own.
When it comes to democratic principles, which the Democratic Party keeps raising concerns about threats to, they're not doing a very good job. President Joe Biden's own fellow Democrats, as Matt reminded, forced him to step aside from his reelection prospects. Such a move came less than one month after his disastrous debate performance against Trump. Then Vice President Kamala Harris was hurriedly installed as his replacement, without winning a single primary vote.
Also on Tuesday, Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY) posted to his official X account that Adams should resign, and that he was one of the first to call him to do so.
My statement on Mayor Eric Adams: pic.twitter.com/qLI3B6M5s6
— Rep. Nadler (@RepJerryNadler) February 18, 2025
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