Facing reporters on Wednesday, Mayor Eric Adams for the first time gave some details into his thought process last Thursday when he abruptly left Washington, D.C. for New York.
He said a campaign staffer notified him of the incident, so he rushed back to the city to comfort Brianna Suggs, whose home was being raided.
“As a human being, I was concerned about a young 25-year-old staffer that went through a traumatic experience,” Adams said. But the comfort came at a distance, as the mayor acknowledged he had no contact with Suggs that day.
“I did not speak with Brianna on that day because I didn’t want to give any appearance of interference,” Adams said.
Last Thursday, Adams was set to meet with White House officials and other mayors over the migrant crisis. The mayor boarded a plane and talked up the importance of the trip, but never made the meeting, leaving it to other cities to plead for federal support.
He said coming back to the city was about showing leadership.
“When you have something like that action that took place, your team is looking at you. Your presence is everything. And I wanted to be here not only among my campaign team, but my City Hall team,” Adams said.
AC