Two days after posting a video celebrating his freedom from government office, former New York City Mayor Eric Adams lashed out at fellow Democrats over how they responded to President Donald Trump’s capture of Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro, Fox News reports.
Earlier in the week, Adams shared a video online showing himself with a cigar and what looked like a glass of bourbon, grinning as he mocked government bureaucracy as “slow as s—” and filled with people trying to throw “sand in the gears.” He ended with a promise of an “unforgettable, bada–, no bull—- 2026.” But by the weekend, his focus had shifted to foreign affairs—and he struck a notably different tone than his successor.
Adams publicly praised Trump for “hit[ting] the cartels where it hurts” through Maduro’s arrest, while blasting former Vice President Kamala Harris and President Joe Biden for what he described as weak policies toward Venezuela’s authoritarian leader.
“I have seen firsthand how Nicolás Maduro destroyed Venezuela and turned it into a narco-state. Millions fled. Thousands landed in New York City,” Adams said, later adding, “Now in U.S. custody, the man who helped flood our streets with fentanyl is finally being held accountable. American lives were destroyed because of him.”
He pointed out that only days before leaving office, Biden and Harris had increased the bounty on Maduro’s head from the Obama-era $10 million to $25 million—an irony Adams didn’t overlook.
Harris, however, condemned Trump’s military action, calling it “unlawful and unwise” and saying that detaining Maduro “does not make America safer.” She argued that Americans “are tired of being lied to.” Adams quickly pushed back, telling the former vice president that “Public safety is not a political game.”
“You do not label someone a narco-dictator one year and then pretend he is no longer a threat the next simply because a different president is in office – that is cynical and irresponsible,” Adams declared.
To reinforce his argument, Adams pointed to several fentanyl-related deaths in New York, including that of Nicholas Feliz-Dominici, a two-year-old Bronx boy who died from poisoning at daycare. “America is safer today because Maduro is no longer in power,” Adams added. “Welcome to New York, Nicolás.”
His comments sharply contrasted those of current Mayor Zohran Mamdani, a self-described socialist, who said he personally called Trump to voice his opposition to the military operation capturing Maduro.
Mamdani attempted to flex his socialist muscle stating, “I was briefed this morning on the U.S. military capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, as well as their planned imprisonment in federal custody here in New York City,” adding, “Unilaterally attacking a sovereign nation is an act of war and a violation of federal and international law. This blatant pursuit of regime change doesn’t just affect those abroad, it directly impacts New Yorkers, including tens of thousands of Venezuelans who call this city home.”