Democratic mayoral nominee Eric Adams is headed to the White House Monday to discuss ways to combat shootings with President Biden, according to a campaign source and his schedule.
Adams will meet at 12:45 p.m. with Biden to “discuss gun violence,” according to the Brooklyn borough president’s public schedule.
Adams received a congratulatory phone call from Biden after the June 22 primary, when the president thanked him for his efforts to curb gun violence, according to law enforcement sources.
Other city and law enforcement leaders — and Attorney General Merrick Garland — will be in attendance as Biden is expected to talk about the federal effort to stop the flow of illegal firearms.
Gun violence and shooting deaths have skyrocketed in major cities across the nation since the onset of the pandemic.
The surge in crime comes amid a nationwide push for police reform.
Adams, a former NYPD captain, earlier Sunday praised the president for his attention to violence in predominantly black cities, rather than solely seeking to combat the use of assault rifles, which are used in less frequent mass shootings.
“I believe those priorities, they really were misplaced, and it’s almost insulting but we have witnessed over the last few years,” Adams said.
“They knew they were dealing with this real crisis, and it took this president to state that it is time for us to stop ignoring what is happening in the South Side of Chicagos, in the Brownsvilles, in the Atlantas of our country.”
Adams also responded warmly to comments from White House chief of staff Ron Klain, who said Adams’ and Biden’s coalitions were similar, by saying with a smile, “I duplicated it.”
He called himself a blue-collar candidate who is “proud of what the president did.”
“They wanted not a government of just an ideological approach, but a pragmatic approach of, we want to be safe, we want to be employed, we want to be able to educate our children,” Adams said.
“When I saw the president speak in a blue-collar, plain talk, [he] understood the needs of everyday Americans, I was encouraged,” he added.
“I stood my ground, and that was a pathway that I knew, and the numbers really communicated clearly. We captured four of the five boroughs, everyday, blue-collar New Yorkers. I’m a blue-collar candidate, and I’m proud of what the president did.”
Adams, the heavy favorite to become New York City’s next mayor, has said curbing gun violence in the Big Apple will be a top priority when he takes office in January. As a candidate, he positioned himself as a moderate on criminal justice issues, speaking out against the “Defund the police” movement, while outlining a series of police reform efforts, including firing “abusive” cops within 90 days of incidents.