New York City Mayor Eric Adams sounded an alarm Sunday to every Democratic Party leader who hasn't been prioritizing crime.
While appearing on CNN's "State of the Union" program, Adams characterized incumbent Lori Lightfoot's defeat in last week's Chicago mayoral runoff election as a "warning sign for the country" at large.
"I showed up at crime scenes. I knew what New Yorkers were saying. And I saw it all over the country. I think, if anything, it is really stating that this is what I have been talking about. America, we have to be safe," said Adams, a first-term mayor and former New York City Transit Police officer whose mayoral campaign was focused largely on public safety and curbing crime rates.
Adams then added: "Mayors, we are closer. We're closest to the problem. ... We are focused on public safety because people want to be safe."
Violent crime rates had spiked in Chicago for 2020 and 2021, under Lightfoot's watch, according to Chicago Police Department data. Those numbers applied to incidents of theft, carjacking, robberies, and burglaries — but not murders and shootings, according to CNN.
However, some high-profile incidents in Chicago — namely last year's July 4 shooting in the suburb of Highland Park, which resulted in six deaths and at least 30 injuries — might have fueled the perception of Lightfoot's administration not being tough on crime.
Regarding New York City, Adams said, "The polls were clear. New Yorkers felt unsafe, and the numbers showed that they were unsafe. Now, if we want to ignore what the everyday public is stating, then that's up to them. I'm on the subways. I walk the streets. I speak to everyday, working-class people. And they were concerned about safety."
Earlier this week, Adams made headlines by dismissing the notion of church and state separation and drawing a connection between the absence of faith and guns in schools.
During an interfaith breakfast, Adams remarked, "Don't tell me about no separation of church and state. State is the body; church is the heart. You take the heart out of the body, the body dies."
And on Sunday, Adams doubled down on his midweek remarks by saying, "What I believe is that you cannot separate your faith. Government should not interfere with religion, and religion should not interfere with government. But I believe my faith pushes me forward on how I govern and the things that I do."
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.