‘Modern-day Mein Kampf’: NYC Mayor Adams under fire for Hitler reference as calls for his resignation mount
Jewish leaders slammed the mayor’s remarks as ‘offensive’ and a ‘shanda’
NYC Mayor Eric Adams on Jan. 30. Photo by Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office
By Jacob Kornbluh February 17, 2025
New York City Mayor Eric Adams is facing backlash after invoking Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf while defending himself against corruption allegations.
“That is what you’re seeing right there, right now — a modern-day Mein Kampf,” Adams told supporters at a Brooklyn church on Monday. He was referring to political opponents who accuse him of striking a quid pro quo deal with the Justice Department: drop federal corruption charges in exchange for helping Trump’s immigration crackdown.
Fellow New York Democrats, including Jumaane Williams, the city’s public advocate who is second in line for the mayoral job, have called on Adams to resign or else face possible ouster.
“If you tell lies long enough, loud enough, people will tend to believe it is true,” Adams said, echoing a concept described by the Nazi leader in his book outlining his political beliefs.
Full quote of NYC Mayor Eric Adams at campaign event in Brooklyn, saying that the campaign for his ouster is the “modern day Mein Kampf.” ⬇️
— Jacob N. Kornbluh (@jacobkornbluh) February 17, 2025
He’s prob referring to Hitler’s “Big Lie” expression — “if you tell a life long enough, loud enough, people will tend to believe you.” pic.twitter.com/Riox4PVBIZ
Adams was elected in 2021 with support from Orthodox voting blocs and has maintained his popularity with Orthodox Jews for his strong pro-Israel stance. He has resisted all calls to step down. He declared himself a “modern-day Maccabi” at a pre-Hanukkah party he hosted at Gracie Mansion in December.
Two of his chief rivals in the June mayoral primary, Brad Lander and Scott Stringer, who are both Jewish, condemned the mayor’s remarks.
“To invoke Hitler here is a shanda,” said Lander, the city comptroller, using the Yiddish term for “disgrace.”
“This is nonsensical, unacceptable, and offensive,” Stringer said in a statement posted on the social platform X, highlighting that New York City is home to the largest Jewish population outside of Israel. Adams “should not be comparing the situation that his own unethical conduct put him in to anything to do with Hitler or the Holocaust,” he said.
Lander and Stringer are among seven Democrats who have already declared their candidacies to challenge Adams in the June primary, including state senators Zellnor Myrie and Jessica Ramos; Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani; former state legislator Michael Blake; and Jim Walden, a former federal prosecutor. Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who stepped down in 2021 following sexual harassment allegations, though he denied them, is also considering a run in the nonpartisan and ranked-choice contest.
Myrie, who represents the neighborhoods of Crown Heights, East Flatbush and Park Slope with significant Jewish populations, called Adams’ remarks “blatant antisemitism.”
The controversy adds to Adams’ mounting troubles: In a development that could further destabilize his embattled mayoralty, four of his deputy mayors — Maria Torres-Springer, Meera Joshi, Anne Williams-Isom, and Chauncey Parker — who manage much of the city’s daily operations, announced their departures on Monday. Another close ally, Fabien Levy, a son of Jewish immigrants and the first-ever deputy mayor of Persian or Iraqi descent, is reportedly considering quitting.
Lander, the city’s chief accountability officer, issued an ultimatum to Adams to present a detailed contingency plan by Friday to fill the leadership void or face removal by a special panel deeming him unfit to fulfill his duties as mayor. City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, who would also be a member of the five-person Inability Committee, said Adams lost the confidence of all New Yorkers to govern.
If Adams resigns or is removed from office, Williams would be acting mayor for 90 days until a special election is held. The winner of the special election would have to compete in a June primary to serve a full term. Williams has previously said that if he assumes the role, he would compete for a four-year term.
A message from our Publisher & CEO Rachel Fishman Feddersen
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism so that we can be prepared for whatever news 2025 brings.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.
Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
