New York City Mayor Eric Adams has called for a cooling of political rhetoric, defending former President Donald Trump against characterizations of him as a “fascist.” In a press conference on Saturday, Adams was asked if he agreed with some politicians and public figures who have described Trump in such terms. Adams clarified that, while he doesn’t support the former president’s actions or policies, he doesn’t believe equating Trump to Adolf Hitler or fascism is constructive or accurate.
Adams emphasized the importance of measured language in political discourse, referencing his own experience with such labels. “I know what Adolf Hitler has done, and I know what a fascist regime looks like,” Adams said. “I’ve had terms like ‘fascist’ and ‘Hitler’ hurled at me by some political leaders here in the city, and it’s not fitting to anyone to compare a political opponent to Hitler.”
As political polarization escalates ahead of the upcoming election, Adams urged people to “dial down the temperature” and focus on constructive dialogue. His comments come at a time when political figures across the spectrum are increasingly quick to brand opponents with highly charged labels, especially with Trump’s presence looming large as a major figure in the 2024 election.
Adams’s remarks follow recent controversies surrounding Vice President Kamala Harris, who referred to an article from The Atlantic that described Trump in ways suggesting an affinity with authoritarian leaders. The article claimed that Trump had made statements invoking Hitler’s leadership style, which Harris reportedly referenced to critique Trump’s perceived authoritarian tendencies.
According to The Atlantic, Trump allegedly told aides in a 2020 meeting that he wanted a military leader who could command loyalty similar to what “Hitler had.” The report, citing “contemporaneous notes” from attendees, claimed that Trump expressed anger over funeral costs for Vanessa Guillen, a soldier who was murdered in 2020, and allegedly used inflammatory language to convey his frustration. Trump’s aides and allies quickly denounced the report, calling it a baseless accusation that unfairly casts the former president in a negative light.
Several prominent Democratic leaders have been vocal in their warnings about what they consider Trump’s authoritarian tendencies. California Governor Gavin Newsom, for instance, recently labeled Trump a “fascist,” arguing in a television interview that it was not an overstatement. “When you look at his actions, his rhetoric, and the tactics he uses, they align with those of fascist leaders,” Newsom stated. Minnesota Governor Tim Walz has also echoed these concerns, portraying Trump as a “threat to democracy” in public comments.
Mayor Adams, however, expressed a differing viewpoint, advocating for a more balanced approach to political critique. In his comments, he referenced concerns that the divisive rhetoric around Trump’s campaign and rallies could lead to heightened tensions in New York City. The former president held a rally in Madison Square Garden this weekend, which Adams defended as an example of free speech and democracy in action. “I strongly disagree with those who say Trump shouldn’t be allowed to rally in New York,” Adams said. “This is America. Our job as a city, and as a police department, is to ensure that anyone can exercise their right to speak in a peaceful way.”
Adams emphasized that stoking pre-election hostilities could make governing even more challenging once the election is over, urging New Yorkers to consider the broader implications of intense political divisiveness. “The heat we turn up today, pre-election, will be the heat we’re going to have to govern in,” he added, underscoring the need to maintain civil discourse as political battles intensify.
The political climate has grown more charged since the “Defund the Police” protests of 2020, as some activists and politicians have voiced concerns that the former president’s campaign represents a shift toward authoritarianism. Trump, a native New Yorker, has often used New York City as a stage for his public appearances, and his return to Madison Square Garden for the rally highlights the tensions within his home state. Adams’s comments indicate his intent to manage the situation with a level of impartiality, distinguishing between political critique and outright suppression of free expression.
Breitbart News reported on Adams’s comments, noting that his statements come amid Vice President Harris’s recent critiques of Trump. During a rally, Harris invoked The Atlantic article to address what she and other Democratic leaders see as dangerous inclinations in Trump’s political style. Despite Adams’s concerns about inflammatory language, the vice president and her allies argue that Americans should be vigilant against what they view as an erosion of democratic norms under Trump’s influence.
Adams’s remarks stand in contrast to the more forceful language of fellow Democrats, reflecting a strategic choice in how New York’s leadership is approaching the election season. While Adams’s approach to lowering the intensity of discourse may not be universally accepted among party members, it underscores his belief in fostering a less confrontational environment for civic engagement.
In urging New Yorkers and the broader public to tone down the rhetoric, Adams is aligning himself with a view that prioritizes stability over division. His comments suggest a desire to balance free speech rights with responsible language in political conversations, particularly as New York remains a pivotal stage for political events. As Adams put it, “This city will not shut down voices but will protect their right to be heard,” emphasizing that his goal is a city that upholds democratic principles without compromising safety or stability.
With the 2024 election nearing and political divides deepening, Adams’s stance on tempering rhetoric offers an alternative narrative, one focused on reducing hostility and fostering an environment where ideas can be exchanged respectfully. In doing so, he joins a minority of leaders advocating for a middle-ground approach in an era where extremes often dominate public discourse.
Hey Adams where have you been while NYC swung far left and into Sanctuary City Status and you marched to the beat of the same drum that installed Hochul the so called Gov has been since she got to rule in New York? And what about when DeNiro that loony former movie star was screaming in the streets about how evil Trump is and he wants to punch him in the face; but its Bobby the washed up star that needs to get a psychoanalysis and shut the hell-up! Start with him would ya. Then see what you need to do about yourself and all the mayhem you brought to NYC like kicking residents out of school or recreational facilities to make room for felony illegal invaders and some are gang members. You sure got plenty of Police to take an early retirement being a Defund the Police Arena!
typical yankee (N1663R/demon-rat)
Quoting Gavin Newsom is insane in its own right. He has sent California into financial disaster, crime is rampant, police can not make arrests legally, and this man has been recalled not once, not twice but three times, yet hard left wing fools retain him. Newsom needs to go into history gracefully now, before the full harm of his actions are recorded for posterity.
I just listened to what that Evil Fugly Skelotor looking James Carvel said on Television, He said “The Democrats should stop playing nice and lock up the Political Opponents and Slit their Throats”.!
But it’s the Communist Democrats who says Trump’s going to rule like a Dictator and turn the Military against the American Citizens.!
The same Communist bastards also said that Trump, will rule like Hitler and eliminate the Jewish people.!
Just who the Fuc* believes that bullshit.?
It was President Trump who stood by Isreal, bombed Isis and strengthen our Military and Economy.
It is facts that the Communist Democrats that have turned our Military against America and gave them the green light to attack Americans under the direction of the Communist Anti-God, Anti-Constitution, Anti-American Communist Democrats.!
If anyone’s Throats are to be cut, it’s the Communist.
Michael, you are correct, and Carvel is a raving completely out of his mind lunatic, who should have been locked away long ago. He always foments extreme violence and is a dangerous media personality who is coaching the leftists and communists.
Trump is the one president who got his “Abraham Accords” agreements in the Middle East signed that was building a “peace initiative” in the region between the Jewish State and several Muslim nations to build working business and commerce relationships; which absolutely toned down the tensions there, all the while he had Iran the 800 pound gorilla, the “biggest instigator in the Middle East” boxed in and shutdown without revenues from oil and what-not to sponsor Terrorist acts against Israel and other nations, just like the Ayatollah did again through one of his proxies Hamas, in October of last year killing thousands of innocent civilians including infants in their cribs or even still in the womb of their mothers, a most brutal act of evil that I thank God I’m not near it all, as that would be enough to put me over the top to get all terrorists responsible; all under this evil Biden/Harris felonious administration! Yet that bitch demonic inspired witch runs around campaigning and putting on that hideous fake smile that only a devil could do in light of what they are responsible for causing to so much innocence and good people! Also Iran now has their Nuclear Weapons program “all cranked up again to get the bomb” so they can “wipe Israel off the face of the earth” and they will if given the chance; those people are hell-bent evil monsters in the Ayatollah’s regime. I’m going to say it, “anyone that votes for the Democrats again and especially Harris is saying they love evil and worship it or they are totally insane!” This current Biden/Harris administration has brought “nothing but havoc, destruction, despair and evil upon America” and in many locales around the globe!
Let’s remember it was Trump who got “Crazy as Bat Shit Kim Rocket Man” to cool his jets and stop launching missiles toward Japan and other Pacific Ocean locations to flex his potential Nuclear Threat Capability! But Trump actually was the first President to walk across the DMZ into North Korean territory to sit down and talk with Kim to establish a peaceful, calm dialog which nobody had done since 1953 when the Korean War Armistice was signed! That is skill, intelligence, intestinal fortitude, integrity and “balls” to do what Trump did for peace and our Nation as well as the world! Nobody else is doing that; not here from this piece of crap administration nor anyone around the globe that aims for that kind of positive result to stop the escalation of tensions, warmongering and madness that many “War Harks in the Democrat Marxist Cabal with many Rino’s” always fan the flames of for the “MIC,” like that “asshole Kelly” who is dissing Trump now calling him a Dictator Type personality and dangerous! LIARS all over the place in Washington and “Kelly is a huge one just like Bolton or Harris and Biden.”