Mayor Eric Adams of New York City traveled to Washington on Monday for President Donald J. Trump’s inauguration, following weeks of speculation over whether the mayor would attend and the motivations behind his overtures toward Mr. Trump.
Mr. Adams, a Democrat, had planned to appear at two events in New York City in honor of Martin Luther King’s Birthday. But shortly before 8:30 a.m. Monday, his office announced that Mr. Adams had accepted a last-minute invitation to the inauguration.
Fabien Levy, a spokesman for the mayor, posted on social media that Mr. Adams had been invited “in the early hours of Monday morning” and that he had accepted “on behalf of New York City.”
“As the mayor has repeatedly said, America has chosen a new national leader and we must work together to build a safer, stronger and more affordable” New York, Mr. Levy said.
Mr. Levy said Monday that the mayor left to drive to Washington at around 3 a.m. after receiving an invite from Steve Witkoff, a billionaire New York real estate executive and Mr. Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East.
Mr. Adams is facing federal corruption charges and is set to go on trial in April. Mr. Trump has said that he is considering pardoning Mr. Adams, and has argued that both men were treated unfairly by prosecutors.
Late last week, Mr. Adams traveled to Florida to visit Mr. Trump and have lunch at his golf course. Mr. Adams, who has pleaded not guilty, said that he did not discuss his legal case with Mr. Trump at their lunch, which Mr. Witkoff also attended.
The news that Mr. Adams was attending the inauguration drew swift condemnation from Democratic elected officials in New York, including his rivals in this year’s mayoral race. His trip to Washington was an unusually high-profile show of support for an incoming Republican president by the mayor of the nation’s largest Democratic stronghold.
New York City mayors have not traditionally attended presidential inaugurations. Mr. Adams’s predecessor, Bill de Blasio, led a protest of Mr. Trump’s first swearing-in eight years ago.
The Rev. Al Sharpton, a key ally of Mr. Adams and a critic of Mr. Trump, questioned the wisdom of the mayor’s trip and said it had “political overtones.”
“To say you’re not going to raise your eyebrows would be dishonest,” Mr. Sharpton said Monday, speaking on MSNBC. He added: “I think this will cause a lot of us to say, ‘What is this all about?’”
Zellnor Myrie, a state senator from Brooklyn and one of Mr. Adams’s mayoral opponents, said in a statement that New Yorkers “deserve a mayor who puts our city’s well-being above their exoneration.”
For many New Yorkers, Inauguration Day brought feelings of fear and sadness, including over Mr. Trump’s promised mass deportations in a city that is known as a bastion for immigrants.
Mr. Myrie said that the city had long “welcomed people like my parents who came here from Costa Rica nearly 50 years ago to build a better life.”
“We must continue to protect, embrace and celebrate all New Yorkers, from our newest arrivals to those who have been here for generations,” he said.
Mr. Adams faces five federal corruption charges related to bribery and fraud. He is accused of receiving thousands of dollars in travel benefits from Turkish officials and soliciting illegal foreign campaign donations.
The New York Times reported last month that two of the mayor’s advisers were quietly trying to secure a ticket for him to attend the inauguration. They had reached out to prominent New York Republicans asking for help connecting with Mr. Trump’s team.
The mayor watched the inauguration from an overflow area in Emancipation Hall at the Capitol, rather than from inside the Capitol Rotunda, where the proceedings were held.
He was seen mingling with the influencers Logan and Jake Paul and with Charles W. Herbster, a losing Republican candidate for governor in Nebraska. He was also spotted with Brock Pierce, a cryptocurrency investor; Mr. Adams flew on Mr. Pierce’s private jet to Puerto Rico shortly after he was elected mayor.
Some Democrats have argued that the mayor’s kinship with Mr. Trump could hurt him politically as he runs for re-election. Mr. Adams, who was registered as a Republican for a period in the 1990s, is currently competing in a crowded Democratic field, and the primary will be held in June.
Mr. Adams, the city’s second Black mayor, had been scheduled to attend an event Monday honoring Dr. King at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, where other Democrats gathered, including Adrienne Adams, the City Council speaker, and Gov. Kathy Hochul. He had then planned to visit the Convent Avenue Baptist Church in Harlem.
Several officials who appeared at the event in Brooklyn criticized the mayor’s decision to skip it. Jumaane Williams, the city’s public advocate, said in an interview that Mr. Adams’s attendance at the inauguration was “disturbing” and particularly hurtful given that it fell on the holiday honoring Dr. King.
“Instead of being here with New York City residents who are concerned, deciding to go to the inauguration of someone who couldn’t be furthest away from what Dr. King represents, it is very clear that this is not about protecting New York City,” he said. “It seems to be about protecting Eric Adams and doing what’s best for him.”
But Ms. Hochul, an ally to the mayor who has the power to remove him from office, declined to criticize him.
“That is his decision,” she said. “For me, it was personally important to be here with the people of Brooklyn, the people of the city, to celebrate the life and legacy of Dr. King.”
She added, “I never second-guess another elected official’s decision to do what they think is right.”
A short time later, Mr. Adams sought to defend himself in a post on social media, calling the inauguration a “sacred American tradition.”
“On MLK Day, like Reverend Dr. King said, we must put partisan politics aside to do what’s best for our country,” he said.
A large audience packed the ornate Beaux Arts-style Howard Gilman Opera House at BAM on Monday as elected officials and other speakers stood in front of an image of Dr. King, backlit in purple and blue.
They spoke about key moments in the civil rights movement and carrying its legacy forward, even under a new presidential administration that many suggested would be hostile to those values.
Ms. Adams, the first Black woman to serve as Council speaker, who is not related to the mayor, gave an animated speech in which she described the second Trump administration as “another opportunity for this farce to occur in our nation’s capital.” Then she took aim at the mayor.
“Some that should be here celebrating Dr. King with us in this room have chosen to go to Washington to celebrate with felon 47,” she said, to thunderous applause.
Brad Lander, the city comptroller and a mayoral candidate, said in an interview at the event on Monday that Mr. Adams should be putting as much energy into solving problems like homelessness as he is putting into seeking a pardon.
“It’s appalling,” he said, “and New Yorkers shouldn’t stand for it.”
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