The relationship between New York City Mayor Eric Adams and President Joe Biden has become so strained that the most prominent Black mayor in the country was cut from the president's 2024 campaign advisory board before last week's announcement.
According to Axios, Biden and Adams are clashing over immigration and crime, as well as the mayor's inclination to criticize the administration publicly. Adams was set to serve as a campaign surrogate, and the move reveals the extent to which the relationship between the two men has broken down.
The dustup is part of a larger problem for the Biden campaign. Adams' sentiments are apparently shared by numerous Democrat state and city officials, who are happy the mayor is saying what they are all thinking.
The Biden administration is reportedly wearing their patience thin, especially on the subject of immigration at the U.S.-Mexico border.
One person familiar with the situation told Axios it is akin to a fighting couple who avoid holding hands in public, while a senior official in a Democrat-led state said the White House has not responded well to Adams' criticism.
"Adams is right to be upset, and I think it's a massive mistake to be dismissive of him," the Democrat official told Axios.
Adams' blunt criticism of the White House response to the crush of migrants overwhelming the southern border is reminiscent of Republican attacks on the administration.
"The president and the White House have failed this city," Adams said in April, using a line many in the GOP have used to rebuke the Biden administration.
Thousands of migrants have arrived in New York City, including many who were sent up from border states by fed-up Republican governors. The new arrivals have created a budget headache and led to problematic headlines for the mayor.
One New York Post headline last week from Orange County read: "Homeless vets are being booted from N.Y. hotels to make room for migrants."
Behind the scenes, top Democrats are reportedly working to mend the Biden-Adams rift and present a united front as the 2024 campaign gets underway.
"I'm trying to get them to sort it out," the Rev. Al Sharpton told Axios. "I would hope [the White House] sees the value of Eric, the mayor of the largest city, a Black mayor, not all the way left, not all the way right."
Sharpton added Adams would also benefit from a repaired relationship with the White House.
Howard Wolfson, a top aide to former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, told Axios "both sides have a vested interest in resolving this."
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