NYC mayor says his meeting with Trump covered jobs and ceasefire deal, but not his criminal case

NEW YORK — New York City Mayor Eric Adams said his meeting with President-elect Donald Trump on Friday included discussions of bringing manufacturing jobs back to the city and the Gaza ceasefire deal — but not the mayor's federal bribery case.

In a statement released Friday evening following the visit in Florida earlier in the day, the Democratic mayor said he and Trump ''had a productive conversation about New York's needs and what's best for our city, and how the federal government can play a more helpful role in improving the lives of New Yorkers.''

''To be clear, we did not discuss my legal case,'' he added.

The mayor's visit to see Trump had been castigated by several of his potential opponents in this year's Democratic mayoral primary, who accused Adams of cozying up to Trump in an effort to get a presidential pardon.

Adams hit back in the statement, saying that ''those who suggest the mayor of the largest city in the nation shouldn't meet with the incoming president to discuss our city's priorities because of inaccurate speculation or because we're from different parties clearly care more about politics than people.''

A federal grand jury indicted Adams in September on charges that he accepted luxury travel perks and illegal campaign contributions from foreign nationals in exchange for favors that included helping Turkish diplomatic officials resolve issues with fire safety inspectors at a diplomatic building in Manhattan. He is scheduled to go on trial in April and has pleaded not guilty.

Trump said in December that he was open to giving Adams a pardon and has criticized the case against him.

During Adams' visit with Trump on Friday, he also saw Sylvester Stallone and told the actor ''how much I love his ‘Rocky' series," he recalled to a New York Times reporter, who posted some brief video of their exchange to X.

Asked if they spoke about the new $9 toll for most drivers entering Manhattan that Trump has said he will block when he returns to office, Adams said he would have more to say later.