If Mayor Eric Adams of New York City wanted to dispel fears that he was beholden to the Trump administration in exchange for its maneuvering to have his criminal case dropped, his appearance on “Fox and Friends” on Friday morning seemed to have the opposite effect.
In the joint appearance with President Trump’s border czar, Thomas Homan, the two described their newfound collaboration on Mr. Trump’s immigration crackdown. It led to some uncomfortable moments for Mr. Adams, a Democrat.
The mayor, who is facing vigorous calls to resign, reiterated his support for working with Mr. Trump to detain and deport immigrants who are accused of crimes. Then Mr. Homan warned that he would make sure Mr. Adams complied.
“If he doesn’t come through, I’ll be back in New York City, and we won’t be sitting on the couch — I’ll be in his office, up his butt, saying, ‘Where the hell is the agreement we came to?’” Mr. Homan said.
Mr. Homan pressed for further cooperation from Mr. Adams and attacked Gov. Kathy Hochul, who is facing growing pressure to use her power to remove Mr. Adams from office.
“Governor Hochul, she needs to be removed,” Mr. Homan said. “The one who needs to be removed is her. She supports sanctuary policies.”
Mr. Adams stared quietly at the camera and did not respond or defend her.
The interview was a stunning spectacle in the ongoing saga over the mayor’s federal corruption case that has set off a crisis within the Justice Department. The U.S. attorney in Manhattan and several top officials in the department’s public integrity unit in Washington resigned on Thursday rather than obey an order from a top Justice Department official to drop the case against Mr. Adams.
The cooperation between Mr. Adams and Mr. Trump has raised alarm in New York over the mayor’s ability to run the city independently. There are growing calls for Mr. Adams to resign from prominent Democrats in New York, including Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Nydia Velázquez.
Ms. Hochul, who previously suggested that she would not oust Mr. Adams, did not rule out removing him on Thursday night.
“The allegations are extremely concerning and serious,” she said in an interview on MSNBC. “But I cannot, as the governor of this state, have a kneejerk, politically motivated reaction.”
Mr. Homan appeared confident that Mr. Adams was under his influence, saying that he met with the mayor on Thursday determined to gain concessions: “I’m not leaving with nothing.”
Some compared the interview to a hostage video, with Mr. Adams appearing uncomfortable. Mr. Homan said that he expected more cooperation in the future.
“Now I have him on the couch in front of millions of people and he can’t back out now,” Mr. Homan said.
Mr. Adams, for his part, insisted that he was innocent of the federal charges and questioned an assertion made by the departing U.S. attorney, Danielle R. Sassoon. She said that at a meeting she attended, the mayor’s lawyers “repeatedly urged what amounted to a quid pro quo, indicating that Adams would be in a position to assist with the Department’s enforcement priorities only if the indictment were dismissed.”
Mr. Adams dismissed the idea: “It took her three weeks to report in front of her a criminal action?” he said. “C’mon, this is silly.”
Mr. Homan and Mr. Adams had met on Thursday to discuss working together on immigration, and Mr. Adams announced after the meeting that they had reached an agreement to allow federal immigration authorities to return to the Rikers Island jail complex.
The city passed sanctuary laws in 2014 banning Immigration and Customs Enforcement from the complex. But a provision in one of the 2014 laws permits the mayor to issue an executive order to allow access to federal immigration authorities “for purposes unrelated to the enforcement of civil immigration laws.”
Mr. Homan said on Fox News that “step one” was allowing federal immigration authorities to return to Rikers, and said it would be a “game changer” to detain violent offenders and share intelligence.
Mr. Homan said the men had discussed additional immigration measures, but he did not want to discuss them in public because the left-leaning City Council might try to stop them and “put up roadblocks.”
Antonio Reynoso, the Brooklyn borough president, said that Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents should not be allowed at the jails.
“It’s impossible to tell where Donald Trump ends and Eric Adams begins,” he said. “The mayor is being held captive by the president and it’s New Yorkers who are caught in the middle.”
The Rev. Al Sharpton, a key ally of the mayor, reiterated his concerns on Friday that Mr. Adams was beholden to Mr. Trump.
“I think the Trump people have compromised him,” he said in an interview. “And I think that he’s put the city where we’re hostage.”
Mr. Adams insisted on Fox News that he was running for re-election this year as a Democrat, even though he has explored the idea of running as a Republican. He said that he had faced calls to resign before and would fight on.
“People had me gone months ago, but I’m, you know what, I’m sitting on your couch,” he said.
Dana Rubinstein contributed reporting.
