Eric Adams called rival Andrew Yang
...Former 2020 Democratic presidential candidate. Unlike most of the other Dem 2020 candidates, he actually did things besides politix in his adult life, which made him political poison. He worked in startups and early-stage growth companies as a founder or executive from 2000 to 2009. After he founded Venture for America, the Obama administration selected him in 2012 as a Champion of Changeand in 2015 as a
Presidential Ambassador for Global Entrepreneurship. His signature campaign policy is what he calls the
Freedom Dividend, a form of Universal Basic Income for every American over 18. Yang believes UBI is a necessary response to the rapid development of automation that is leading to workforce challenges. The other two central elements of Yang's platform are Medicare for All and
Human-Centered Capitalism....
’s campaign a "joke" and said he should drop out of the race — prompting the entrepreneur and 2020 presidential candidate to fire back by calling the ex-cop Brooklyn borough president "business as usual."
"Why’s he still in the race?" Adams wondered aloud at a presser.
"It’s a joke, and it’s not funny anymore. I think that these are serious issues that we are facing and we are looking at," Adams added.
"This is not a game. New York doesn’t need a cheerleader. They need a leader."
Adams also dismissed Yang’s view that much of the criticism of him not being a true New Yorker is driven by anti-Asian sentiment.
"He must understand that New Yorkers are saying, ’Why didn’t you participate in any of the municipal elections? Why did you flee this city during our darkest hour?'" Adams said, referring to Yang’s move his family to upstate New Paltz during much of the pandemic.
"We don’t need a person that will run from the city. We need a person that’s going to run the city," Adams said at Spofford Juvenile Justice in The Bronx, kicking off the final three weeks of campaigning and with early voting starting in just 11 days, on June 12.
"I don’t even know what he’s talking about," Adams sniffed. "To try to make this into something that is not, that is a distraction."