Eric Adams doubles down on far-left criticism: ‘This is not a socialist country’
More On:
eric adams
Eric Adams catches first pitch from son at Mets game
‘You can’t run from it’: Candidate for Council speaker sought socialists’ nod
Eric Adams says ‘running against philosophies’ not aimed at AOC
Eric Adams knows his real enemy is the far left, which doesn’t dare let him succeed
Democratic Mayoral Candidate Eric Adams doubled down on his criticism of far-left politics in an interview aired Friday night.
“This is not a socialist country, let’s be clear on that,” Adams said during an appearance on HBO’s “Real Time with Bill Maher.”
“This is a country that believes in giving people the opportunities [so] that they will be able to succeed and excel in this country,” he added.
The former NYPD Captain has found himself at odds with the city’s left-wing after saying in a campaign speech in Queens that he is running against the socialist “movement” across the country, specifically naming the Democratic Socialists of America.
“I’m no longer running against candidates. I’m running against a movement. All across the country, the DSA socialists are mobilizing to stop Eric Adams,” he had told the crowd.
“They realize that if I’m successful, we’re going to start the process of regaining control of our cities.”
His remarks at the Monday fundraiser — which were caught on camera and exclusively reported by The Post — sparked cheers from attendees, but earned him a reprimand from other New York democrats, sources have said.
On Maher’s program Friday, Adams reaffirmed that the goal of his campaign is to combat the political divide surrounding law enforcement and restore public safety.
“We see what’s happening in America. We see the demonization of public safety, which I believe is the prerequisite to prosperity,” he said. “We see the demonization of those who are high-income earners.”
Adams said his “personal journey” had helped him see America as a land of opportunity.
The Brooklyn borough president has often recalled how he was arrested and beaten by police officers when he was just 15, an ordeal he said inspired him to join the force.
Maher, who said he quickly became a big fan of Adams as he pulled ahead and won the democratic primary, asked Adams if he is able to address more “common sense” issues than his white democratic colleagues, who Maher said “are so afraid of being called insufficiently anti-racist.”
Adams responded saying he doesn’t want New Yorkers to “surrender” to issues like rising crime and racial division.
“We don’t have to define ourselves by three-year-olds being shot in Times Square. We don’t have to define ourselves [by] dividing ourselves on ethnicity,” he said.
Adams touted the endorsements he received from both George Floyd’s brother, Terrence Floyd, and the family of slain NYPD officer Wenjian Liu, who was shot and killed alongside his cop partner in a Brooklyn ambush in 2014.
“I was endorsed by someone who lost a family member to police misconduct and I was endorsed by the family members of someone [who] was killed in the line of duty,” Adams told Maher.
Adams vowed to “rebuild that trust” between cops and the communities they serve, and said that, if elected, he would “expect a lot more from my police officers.”
“I am going to have the backs of my officers but they are going to have the backs of the people of this city they swore to serve and protect,” he said.
Share this article:
Source: Read Full Article
