New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D) is expressing frustration with the media’s reaction to his two-day trip to the U.S. Virgin Islands amid a storm that left parts of the city flooded.
During a press conference on Tuesday, Adams said, “Every mayor traveled away.”
“I deserve private time — I’m a believer of that,” he continued.
Adams went on:
“I deserve to walk out of the building without a reporter hiding behind a flowerpot — without someone following me. I deserve a moment to really de-escalate, and there will be many days that my body and my mind is going to tell me, ‘Eric, you need to get away.’”
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NYC Mayor Eric Adams defends Virgin Islands trip as city prepared for winter storm:
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"I deserve private time. […] Nowhere in the city charter does it state I have to report to the New York City press where my whereabouts are, and I'm not going to do that." pic.twitter.com/S1fJKWtbjC
Adams, who assumed office in January 2022, also said there is nothing in the city charter requiring him to disclose his location.
“I’m not going to do that,” he added. “And I’m not going to apologize for having the mental and physical capacity that’s needed to do the second most difficult job in politics in America.”
He also expressed dismay at how the press reacted to his trip.
“I was amazed to see how you responded,” Adams said, adding, “This is my second Christmas without my mother, and last year, I was really [in] a state of depression and what I put my staff through – and I said, ‘I can’t do that again.’”
Additionally, he told reporters his trip came after “365 days of working without a day off.”
“After 365 days of commitment to this city, I decided to take two days to reflect on mommy. And to watch how you responded to my two days out of this city, was really alarming,” he said.
The mayor’s trip came as the country was hit by a “once-in-a-generation” storm.
While he was out of the city, Adams noted the first deputy mayor was handling the response to the storm.
“You saw my first deputy mayor hold a press conference, giving a complete diagnosis of what’s happening in the city. We followed the city charter,” he insisted.
