NYC Mayor Eric Adams says if Trump calls, he'll 'listen' amid potential end to reelection bid to be ambassador

Josephine Stratman and Chris Sommerfeldt, New York Daily News on Sep 5, 2025

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NEW YORK — Mayor Eric Adams announced Friday he will “listen if called to serve our country” amid news that he is considering ending his longshot re-election campaign in order to become a U.S. ambassador in President Donald Trump’s administration.

Trump, who has spoken out sharply against Democratic mayoral frontrunner Zohran Mamdani, is considering doling out an ambassadorship in the Middle East to Adams, with Saudi Arabia among the countries in consideration, sources told the Daily News.

The potential ambassadorship offer, first reported by the New York Times, would come with an agreement for Adams to suspend his campaign in order to help clear the mayoral field for a head-to-head competition between Mamdani and ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who’s polling as the biggest threat to the Democratic nominee’s election. Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa is also in the race and has said he won’t drop out under any circumstance.

Addressing the revelations about the potential ambassadorship, Adams said in a statement provided by his campaign Friday morning: “While I will always listen if called to serve our country, no formal offers have been made.”

“I am still running for reelection, and my full focus is on the safety and quality of life of every New Yorker,” his statement added.

Per The Times, White House special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff has helped orchestrate conversations around a potentail ambassador post and sat down with the mayor in Florida earlier this week. The News previously reported Susie Wiles, Trump’s White House chief of staff, has also been in the loop on efforts to get an administration post for Adams.

City Hall spokesperson Kayla Mamelak didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. The mayor’s only planned public appearance Friday morning was called off last minute.

Adams, whose polling numbers are consistently in the single digits, is facing a push to step out of the race to allow Cuomo to face off against Mamdani. Both Adams and Cuomo are running on independent lines.

“I don’t think you can win unless you have one on one, because somehow he’s gotten a little bit of a lead,” President Trump said on Thursday, referring to Mamdani.

Trump has repeatedly incorrectly called Mamdani a “communist” and said Thursday he does not “like to see a communist become mayor.”

“I would like to see two people drop out and have it be one on one,” the president added. “I think that’s a race that could be won.”

Adams gained a globe-trotting reputation — and came under harsh scrutiny, including in the form of a federal corruption indictment — for his frequent trips abroad and relationship cultivation with foreign dignitaries.

The mayor’s charges were dropped at the behest of Trump’s Department of Justice. Trump appointed in the department wrote they needed the mayor to be free of his case in order to aide in the president’s hardline immigration agenda.

Ambassadorships, which are subject to Senate confirmation, would give Adams an extended network in the Middle East.