New York City Mayor Eric Adams condemned the rhetoric of many on the left and refuted claims that Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump is a racist.
At a press conference ahead of a Trump rally in the city's Madison Square Garden, the mayor was asked if he believes the former president is a fascist, to which he responded: "I have heard those terms hurled at me by some political leaders in the city, using terms like Hitler and fascist. My answer is no, I know what Hitler has done and I know what a fascist regime looks like.”
He then called to tone down the rhetoric: "As I called over and over again, the level of conversation, we can all dial down the temperature. I've heard people say that the former president should not be able to have a rally in Madison Square Garden, I strongly disagree. This is America, this is New York, and I think it's important that we allow individuals to exercise their right to get their message clear to New Yorkers. Our job as a city and as a police department is to make sure they can do that in a peaceful way. I think we must be extremely cautious. The heat we turn up today pre-elections, is going to have to be the heat we're going to have to govern.
"I think we need to show a level of respectable communication. So when people called me 'fascist' and other terminologies I didn't like it, and I don't think it's fitting for anyone to say that a former president is equal to being Hitler."
He added: "This is the city with the largest Jewish population, antisemitism is on the rise nationally, we need to do everything to push back on the level of antisemitic tone and antisemitic issues that we're dealing with."
Adams concluded: "Let's have a safe, fair, democratic process and show the globe how we are able to do it correctly."
Last week, Vice President Kamala Harris called Trump a fascist after his former chief of staff John Kelly claimed he said that Hitler “did some good things.” A claim that Trump has denied.
When asked if she believed that Trump is a fascist, the Vice President “Yes, I do.” Later, she brought it up herself, saying Trump would, if elected again, be “a president who admires dictators and is a fascist.”