New York mayor Eric Adams may be eyeing a 2024 White House run if Joe Biden decides against seeking re-election for a second term, a report claims.
The 79-year-old president is the oldest man ever to claim the Oval Office and has insisted he will run again in two years time.
Confidantes of Mr Adams say that the former NYPD officer-turned politician thinks that he now has a platform to run for the country’s highest office, according to The New York Post.
“Eric has told me repeatedly that he thinks that he has a platform to run for national office, for president in 2024. He has said that repeatedly. He thinks New York is a national platform. He thinks the national party has gotten too far to the left and he thinks he has a platform to win,” a person close to the mayor told the right-wing newspaper.
An Adams run for the White House, would see him join a long line of New York mayors to do so, including Bill de Blasio, Michael Bloomberg and Rudy Giuliani.
But no mayor of the city has ever gone on to claim the presidency.
“He is one of the best known Black elected officials in the country,” Chris Coffey, Co-CEO of political consultancy Tusk Strategies told the Post.
“The play works if Adams makes progress on crime and the president decides not to run. I think he would crazy not to consider it.”
New York City has seen a 42.7 per cent increase in major crimes in 2022 through 24 April compared to the same period in 2021, according to NYPD data.
Evan Thies, an adviser to Mr Adams, dismissed the claim, saying, “The mayor has not had any conversations with anyone about running for president. He is 100 per cent focused on lowering crime and improving the economy in New York, and bringing this city back.”
