NEW YORK — Mayor Eric Adams denounced left-wing ideologies in an ultra-patriotic Monday speech in which he also lamented a perceived lack of national pride among young Americans.
Speaking at the USS Intrepid Museum’s annual Memorial Day ceremony, the mayor made the critical comments after referencing a Thomas Jefferson quote about the “tree of liberty,” which is commonly interpreted as being about military struggle.
“You water the tree of freedom with your blood,” Adams said. “We sit under the shade of that tree of freedom protected from the hot rays of socialism and communism and destruction that’s playing out across the globe.”
It was not clear from the mayor’s remarks if his anti-left-wing broadside referenced any particular country’s government or leader.
A spokesman for Adams declined to comment.
Earlier in his speech, the centrist Democratic mayor voiced concern about a poll from last year showing that only 38% of Americans consider themselves “extremely proud” of their country, a record low.
Adams declared himself “part of the 38 percenters” and argued more should be done to foster patriotism in younger generations of Americans, including encouraging daily recitations of the pledge of allegiance.
“Just as I start the day, every child should start the day with that hope and that true pledge,” he said.
Adams’ Memorial Day musings drew push back on social media from local Democratic socialists, who took issue with the fact that the mayor did not include fascism in his condemnation.
“Expect him to be even more publicly unhinged and conservative as his election approaches,” Darren Goldner, an organizer with the New York City chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America, wrote on Twitter.
After his USS Intrepid appearance, Adams was expected to deliver remarks at two more Memorial Day events, one in Manhattan’s Riverside Park and the other in Brooklyn’s Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood.
Adams, a former NYPD captain who was elected in 2021 on a moderate political platform that included promises to boost law enforcement efforts, has a history of feuding with his party’s left.
During a June 2021 campaign fundraiser co-hosted by former Republican Councilman Eric Ulrich, Adams made clear that he views the Democratic Socialists of America as a threat.
“I’m no longer running against candidates. I’m running against a movement. All across the country, the DSA socialists are mobilizing to stop Eric Adams,” he said at the time. “They realize that if I’m successful, we’re going to start the process of regaining control of our cities.”