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June 27, 2025 — Yesterday, New York City Mayor Eric Adams gave a campaign kickoff speech outside of City Hall. In some ways, the speech was as notable for what it didn’t say as for what it did say. He didn’t acknowledge any difficulties or missteps in his first term; set out no new directions for him or his administration (either in terms of policy, the Mayor’s approach to receiving advice or be challenged by the press, or otherwise).
In what was the first official preview of his upcoming campaign against Zohran Mamdani, Adams tried to claim the mantle of the candidate of the working class, identified first-term achievements, laid down a marker of vowing to protect all religions against hate crimes, and excoriated Mamdani, focusing most on the theme that New York “is not a city of socialism,” but also hitting out at Mamdani’s relative inexperience.
As is often the case with the Mayor, he sounded contradictory themes in a single speech. At some points, he lauded the city’s diversity and inclusiveness, but elsewhere he was notably divisive: “This election is a choice between those who believe in this city and those who don’t.” (Note that in a tweet late yesterday that, as of this writing has had 1.8 million views, he described a photo of his rally as showing what “looks like New York” and contrasted it with a photo of a group of Mamdani supporters, asserting that they did not look like New York.)
The speech was noticeably light on the specifics of a second-term agenda, devoting only three sentences to it.
The full speech, with annotations, follows. (Click on text highlighted in red to view annotations.) Video of the speech, captured by News Nation, was, as of publication, available on YouTube.
Note that the sectional headings were not part of the speech — I inserted them to provide an aid to readers.
[Welcoming remarks in the face of heckling]
So, I want to I want to first say “thank you.” Thank you to the leaders…
[Heckling]
So, listen. Listen. Notice…notice…notice how we utilize the letter “F.” We utilize the letter “F” for “faith”; our opponents use the letter F for profanity. So, we need to stay focused, no distractions, and grind. Focused, no distractions, and grind. [Supporters join in chant.] Focus, no distractions, and grind. Focus, no distractions, and grind.
We’re straight ahead. Straight ahead. We’re straight ahead. Right, listen: all my life people have been having moments of trying to distract me. they try to distract me when I couldn’t read. They called me a dumb student. They tried to distract me when I went with clothing with holes in the shoes and cardboards in the soles. They called me poor. They tried to distract me when I got arrested as a little boy and beat by police officers. They called me a criminal. They tried to distract me when I wanted to study and move up through the ranks in the Police Department and fight for reform. They said it wasn’t possible. They tried to distract me when I became a State Senator. Tried to distract me when I became the Black Borough President. They tried to distract me when I became the Mayor. And no matter what distraction they threw at me, God has made the pathway for me to achieve. So, you can call me all the names you want, but I’m going to answer to only one: Mayor Adams.
So, I want to
[Supporters chant “Eric, Eric”]
So, I want to I want to thank all of you. Look at this beautiful display of diversity that’s here. Look at people from all corners of the city and different ethnicities and faiths and groups. Not people who read about me, but people that I have touched individually. That I stood in hospitals with. That I looked at their families and made their lives better.
Look at the display that’s here of different languages and different cultures, all of us wanting the same thing. I’m so proud to be here to say to the people of the City of New York: I am seeking re-election to be your mayor of the city of New York:
[Supporter: The champ is here. Supporters chant: “Four more years.”]
So, so, so, let me take you back because many people have selective amnesia.
[Bringing the city back from the pandemic]
So, I want to take you back. January 1st 2022, when I became mayor, there was this thing called Covid all over our city. You could walk down avenues and business districts and you see businesses were closed and people were unsure, we were all wearing masks. People were debating, “Should our children be in school or not?”
But as a leader that was unwavering understanding the most safe place for our children were in school buildings, I stood strong and firm against the naysayers and said we’re going to open our schools, and we will protect our children, but we will continue to educate them so they won’t continue to have the learning gap that Covid put on them, and the socialization that they need.
We saw leadership and focus. Crime was moving at a higher rate. Businesses were fleeing this city. There was a level of uncertainty. Black and Brown unemployment was high. Black unemployment was four times the rates of White unemployment. We saw a level of uncertainty.
Guns were proliferating our city. We were burying young people at disproportionate numbers. We didn’t have the housing that we needed. All of these issues were facing us and … we was inherited that.
January 1st, 2022, I was sitting in this building with my leadership and said we must forge ahead a pattern and a pathway that people needed to once again believe in the city again. And I saw that before. I didn’t just start doing this. I saw it when Mayor Bloomberg came into office when our center of trade was collapsed. And our poverty was matching that collapse. And he turned around the city with real leadership and focus. And I knew I had to have that same leadership and determination and focus.
And that’s why we’re here today asking for not one more year, not two more years, not three more years. but four more years.
[Supporters chant “four more years, four more years.]
And let’s be clear, let’s be clear.
[Bio]
Listen, folks. Didn’t grow up with much. born in Brownsville. my mother cleaned houses and worked in a daycare center where she took leftovers home to feed us. My siblings and I we had little, and we shared all we had. I wasn’t born into power and privilege; I was born into struggle. Always knew what struggle was. And if you’re going to be a mayor of people who are going through a lot, you must be a human being that has gone through a lot.
And we experienced a lot of pain as a child. I rose through the ranks and became a captain. And worked every day to protect a city – a city that I love. Later served in the State Senate and then as Brooklyn Borough President. I didn’t chase fame; I chased solutions. Whether it was fighting food insecurity or improving housing or lifting up working families, something that I continue today.
When I became mayor, it was clear to me that what we were facing and how we had to turn it around. And one of the most important partnerships that I developed were the partnerships I developed with our faith-based leaders. They knew something that I knew: prayer works. Many would look down on it and don’t see the connection between prayer and government. I’m afraid of a mayor that don’t appreciate prayer and the power of our faith-based leaders.
[First-term achievements]
And so when we look at all the things we were facing, ask yourself, “What have we achieved?”
Let’s talk about what we’ve done over the last few years. We brought down crime and the last 6 months has been the lowest number of shootings and homicides in the history of the city. And what does that mean for those of you who are here? Think about it for a moment. Who, who are the victims of shootings? Who are the victims of those who are shooting? So, when we took 20,000 guns off our streets, we took it out of the hands of Black and Brown people, and we prevented the loss of lives of Black and Brown people. This impact you; it impacts those of you who are here right now. We made smarter choices, and the Police Department are more accountable. Gun arrests are record highs; the removals of guns are record highs.
And what do we do with our economy? 500,000 new jobs since this administration. More jobs in New York in the city’s history, folks. Tech is booming. Tourism is back. Broadway had the best 12 months in recorded history. Construction is growing. And, yes, Times Square is alive again.
And what about our housing comeback? We’ve approved and launched more affordable housing in a single year in the history of the City of New York and we’re going to break that record again. We’re turning unused buildings into homes and streamlining permitting and rezoned areas for growth.
And you cannot have this conversation without talking about mental health. But we made the decision to take people from living off the street because there was nothing dignified by having encampments and tents and people living on the street. We knew that we had to remove from the bite [?] of our city and give people the opportunity they deserve.
And so when I’m here today I say to you: we expanded treatment not just about for long term — for short term — but for long term. Mental illness has been treated like a police problem for far too long; we changed that dynamic on the streets and in our subway system.
We have done more for education than any mayor in our city. 130,000 pre-k; over 100,000 summer youth jobs — 110,000. And “Rise Up.” Put our children on the pathway to careers and employment. Dyslexia screening so 30% of our population won’t sit in jail because they believe they’re dumb instead of knowing that they learn differently. We have changed the trajectory of our children from what they eat to how they think, teaching them meditation, breathing exercises, mindfulness, so they could deal with the stress of being a young person. Sued social media so it can stop indoctrinating and her hurting our children. Aggressive.
[Who and what I’m fighting for]
So, I want to be clear as I make this re-election. What I’m fighting for. I didn’t come into office with a personal agenda. I came with a personal mission to fight for working class New Yorkers. People who woke up at 5 am and do double and triple jobs like my mother did. I fight for the restaurant workers in the Bronx; for the teachers in Queens; for the bodega owner in Brooklyn — that’s why we gave them a panic button so they could stop being arrested and stop being assaulted and robbed. I fight for a NYCHA grandmother in Harlem watching over our grandchildren. That’s why we made sure we had in NYCHA high-speed broadband so their children can have remote learning, and they can have tele-medicine. I fight for everyday New Yorkers who just want their city to darn work for them — and that’s what we’re doing.
And I fight for small property owners. You have individuals who are running for mayor who were saying “no rent.” Those small property owners were losing their homes and many of them were Black and Brown. Their entire wealth was tied up into their small property owners. And we hurt them and now we are saying everything is going up around them: heating cost, Con Edison, insurance. And we’re not willing to give them a small 1 percent increase in their rent so they can keep up. if we lose them we lose the middle class in our city, and I fight for them.
So I’m not interested in Twitter politics. I’m interested in getting the trash picked up. I’m not interested in slogans; I’m interested in solutions. I don’t work with special interests; I work for the people.
I’m proud of the incredible team that we have built. First Deputy Mayor Mastro has brought a new dynamic into the city. My chief of staff Camille Joseph Varlack has handled crisis out of crisis in an in admirable way. Jessica Tisch and her vision in the New York City Police Department that started with my first commissioner that I appointed and is continuing to today.
And the over 300,000 city workers that I gave a fair contract to, so they won’t be afraid to be able to pay for the food that they need to place on their table.
We build a government that works with urgency, compassion, and accountability. And guess what? The phones haven’t stopped ringing. People have been calling and say “We want to help, Eric. We want you to continue to doin’ what you do. How can we join Team Adams?” The excitement has filled the air and you’re going to see a movement that you’ve never witnessed before.
And I told all of you in the beginning, this was going to be the most interesting political campaign in the history of the city. It didn’t stop on June 24, it started on June 24, and it would keep going until November 4.
For the record, a record that stands above the noise. Now I know politics. Politics, you know, is loud — all you got to do is hear that noise in the park. We know that social media is loud. But let’s look at the facts. There are some critics who spend more time attacking than achieving. Let’s me be clear: they have a record of tweets; I have a record on these streets. A record of results. They talk about problems; I fix them.
That’s the difference. You don’t lead this city from a soap box. You lead it from the ground up, with action, not rhetoric. And one thing we do: we deliver, and we never quit.
And mayor for all faiths. I never wavered when it came after protecting our houses of worship and the people who worship inside them. When hate appears in our community, it doesn’t matter if it’s our Sikh members, our Jewish members, our Christian members. When you desecrate our statues, I’m there, front and center, leading from the front.
This city’s greatest sprint is what’s behind me. This diversity. Everything from a yarmulke to a kufi to a hijab to a turban to a headscarf is all part of our diversity and the clothing is representative of what we stand for as a city. No one does it like New York — no one.
[Agenda]
And so let me make clear this: Why am I running for re-election? Because we got more to do. We have more to do. Can you imagine our movement forward and what this city is going to look like? We laid the foundations; now it’s time to build the future. In my second term, I’m going to continue to bring down crime launch a citywide mental health initiative, advance workforce development and vocational education, expand housing faster than ever before to add on our great success. Deliver cleaner streets and better city services. Make the city the greenest city in America and bring New York’s economy into new era of inclusive growth.
And, so, here’s my closing message to you, New York: believe in us. I believe in our grit, our soul, our resiliency, and I believe that our best days are still ahead. Let’s build a city where every kid can dream, and every senior feels safe, and every working person can thrive.
[Closing attack and contrast with Mamdani]
Let’s not go backwards; let’s move forward. Together.
So, four more years mean a lot. It gives me the time to finish the job. And this election is a real choice. This election is a choice between a candidate with a blue collar and one with a soup silver spoon. A choice between dirty fingernails and manicured nails. A choice between someone who delivered lower crime, the most jobs in history, and the most new housing built in decades, and an Assembly Member who did not pass a bill. It’s a choice. This election is a choice between real progress and empty promise. A future for working people, not a fantasy state. This election is a choice between those who believe in this city and those who don’t.
Let me tell you something. This is a city not of socialism. I’ve been to socialist countries. This is a city where you can come as a dishwasher, and you can own a chain of restaurants. This is a city where you can be a cab driver and then become a doctor. This is a city where you could go from homelessness to building housing. This is a city where you could be a young person who’s dyslexic — a young person who was rejected —and eventually to be elected to be the Mayor of the City of New York. This is the type of city we’re in.
This is not a city when you use idealism to state you’re giving everything to everyone for free. There’s no dignity in someone giving you everything for free. There’s dignity in giving you a job so you could provide for your family and the opportunities that you deserve. So, this is not a city of handouts; this is a city of hands up. We’re going to lift up the City of New York and so I’m asking you, New Yorkers, to continue to stand with me as we move this city in the right direction.
I’m ready to be your mayor – again — for another four years.
[Supporters chant.]