The embattled mayor blasted Andrew Cuomo as a “snake and a liar” while vowing to remain in a four-way race that threatens to hand victory to a socialist frontrunner.

By yourNEWS Media Newsroom

New York City Mayor Eric Adams on Friday forcefully denied reports that he was considering leaving office for a position in the Trump administration, instead pledging to remain in the mayoral race despite lagging poll numbers and mounting pressure to withdraw.

At a fiery press conference, Adams dismissed speculation that he might be offered posts such as U.S. ambassador to Saudi Arabia or a leadership role at the Department of Housing and Urban Development. “There’s a lot of reports that I’m in Washington on Monday,” Adams said. “Those reports are wrong. I’m not. I’ll be moving throughout this city, the five boroughs that made me mayor in the first place.”

Adams, running as an independent after breaking with Democrats, is polling at just 7 percent in a July Zenith & Public Progress survey that showed socialist Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani leading with 50 percent, former Gov. Andrew Cuomo at 22 percent, and Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa at 13 percent.

“I am in this race and I’m the only one that can beat Mamdani,” Adams declared, before taking aim at Cuomo: “Andrew Cuomo is a snake and a liar.” His refusal to exit could splinter the anti-Mamdani vote, undermining efforts by centrist Democrats, Republicans, and business leaders to rally around a single challenger.

President Donald Trump, who has warned that multiple candidates would “have a communist mayor of New York,” called Mamdani a “communist” who must be defeated. The New York Times reported that Trump’s advisors had floated federal appointments to entice Adams out of the race, while Politico said a HUD role was among the offers.

Mamdani, 33, a state lawmaker backed by the Democratic Party, defeated Cuomo in the June primary. He mocked Adams’ announcement by posting a clip from The Wolf of Wall Street of Leonardo DiCaprio shouting, “I’m not f—ing leaving.”

The city’s top Democrats, including Gov. Kathy Hochul, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, have so far withheld endorsements.

Hedge fund billionaire Bill Ackman, who once funded a Cuomo-aligned super PAC before backing Adams after Cuomo’s defeat, urged the mayor to step aside. “Eric’s polls have deteriorated substantially since the primary, and it has become increasingly clear that he does not have a chance to beat @ZohranKMamdani,” Ackman wrote on X.

The fractured race has set up a high-stakes November showdown that could usher in New York’s first socialist mayor in modern history.