Eric Adams says he’s the ‘Biden of Brooklyn’ (again)

By Brooklyn Magazine Staff

Adams with Biden in July 2021

Mayor Eric Adams is doubling down on one of his favorite comparisons: of himself to President Joe Biden, saying that he’s the “Biden of Brooklyn” in what he is spinning as a budding bromance between the two.

“I’m the Biden of Brooklyn,” Adams recently said ahead of Biden’s Thursday visit to the city to discuss crime, explaining to reporters that comparison is because they are both “blue-collar guys” who are down to earth.

“I love the fact that the president is coming here. I met with him after the campaign, and we spoke and we just connected,” Adams said. He added that if the president were asked who his favorite mayor was, he would “clearly tell you it’s Eric.”

.@NYCMayor: “This is a great city, and I’m the Biden of Brooklyn, and I love the fact that the President is coming here. I met with him after the campaign […] We just connected. I’m sure if you were to ask him what is his favorite mayor he would clearly tell you it’s Eric.” pic.twitter.com/jkS8jY4QSn

— The Hill (@thehill) February 1, 2022

It’s not the first time Adams has made such a comment, the timing of which is interesting considering Biden’s national approval rating is hitting low marks. Adams said much the same last July when he met Biden for the first time, adding that he borrowed Biden’s “blueprint” to win the contentious Democratic mayoral primary.

Biden is visiting the city amid a crime spike that could be a pivotal topic in the midterm elections. He’s expected to speak with Adams that could be a “high-profile opportunity to press for federal assistance in combating gun violence,” the New York Times reported.

Or, as Politico puts it:

Two years ago, if Democrats knew their next president would be meeting with an ex-cop mayor of New York at the NYPD’s Manhattan headquarters to discuss “historic levels of funding for cities and states to put more cops on the beat,” it would have been a big surprise.