NEW YORK CITY—Mayor Eric Adams has defended his decision to cancel several Martin Luther King Jr. Day plans in New York City to attend the inauguration of President Donald Trump.
At 12:07 a.m. Jan. 20, Adams’ office released a public schedule for the mayor that included MLK Day events in Brooklyn and Harlem and a CBS News talk on the inauguration. About eight hours later, a new schedule was released that stated he would be at the presidential inauguration around noon.
The change of plans occurred when Adams was contacted around 1 a.m. Monday morning by Steve Witkoff, New York State billionaire, real estate developer, and Trump nominee for envoy to the Middle East, who invited him to the inauguration. Steve Witkoff had met privately with Adams and Trump on Jan. 17.
Adams spokeswoman Kayla Mamelak said in defense of the decision, “As the mayor has repeatedly said, America has chosen a new national leader and we must work together to build a safer, stronger, and more affordable New York City.”
The mayor’s action did create backlash from some.
Michael Blake, a former Bronx assemblyman (D) and one of Adams’ challengers for the mayor position this election cycle, said regarding his absence from the MLK ceremonies, “He made it very clear that Eric Adams cares more about a pardon than the people. It’s absolutely unacceptable that he is celebrating the legacy of Trump, as opposed to the legacy of King.”
City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams (D), a regular criticizer of Adams, no relation, said, “Some that should be here celebrating Dr. King with us in this room have chosen to go to Washington to celebrate Felon 47.”
During Adams’ response to the backlash at a press availability on Nov. 21, he emphasized how much he looked up to King.
“I lived my life through the vision of Dr. King. He was my hero. I’ve just probably read just about every sermon that he did that I was able to get. And I know how hard it was. And when you look over some of his speeches and you talk about the transformation of when you’re living in fear and you worry about your family, you have to stay focused.”
Adams said that his actions were in line with what he believes King would have wanted of him.
“Dr. King’s dream is not in Brooklyn or New York City,” he said. “He clearly stated we have to put partisan politics to the side to deal with the issues that are facing the country. Nowhere is that more true than now. So, what it looked like is that there was a responsible mayor that wanted to be substantive in communicating with national leaders and symbolic of saying: I’m not only talking about we need to start the healing process of our country—I’m actually willing to do it.”