Robert Miller
Mayor Eric Adams insisted his criminal case didn’t come up during his powwow with President-elect Donald Trump near Mar-a-Lago on Friday — but offered few details about the high-stakes sit-down other than a surprise cameo by Sylvester Stallone.
The pair chatted over an hour-long lunch in the Trump International Golf Course in Palm Beach, Fla., with Trump’s son Eric Trump, his special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff and Adams’ former Chief of Staff Frank Carone, sources told The Post.
News of the meeting had sparked strong suggestions the indicted Democratic mayor would discuss a pardon with the Republican incoming president, but it was not immediately known if that conversation unfolded.
Adams, in a statement broadly outlining their chat, said they didn’t discuss his “legal case.”
“President Trump and I had a productive conversation about New York’s needs and what’s best for our city, and how the federal government can play a more helpful role in improving the lives of New Yorkers,” he said.
“While we briefly touched on a number of issues, we specifically focused on the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas and how it will have a positive impact on public safety in our country; how we can bring manufacturing jobs back to New York, particularly in the Bronx; and how we can continue to make federal investments in New York City, especially when it comes to infrastructure.”
When confronted by a New York Times reporter at the Palm Beach International Airport, Adams promised he would dish more during a Saturday briefing.
The only other detail immediately offered by Adams was that they dined near “Rocky” star Sylvester Stallone, one of Trump’s recently designated “ambassadors” to Hollywood.
“I saw him, and I told him how much I loved his ‘Rocky’ series,” Adams said in a video posted on X by the reporter.
The sudden face-to-face in Florida unfolded just days before Trump’s inauguration — and amid growing rumors that the mayor is desperate to receive a presidential pardon.
Adams, who is up for re-election this year, faces a historic federal bribery and corruption indictment over accusations he received illegal foreign donations to his 2021 mayoral campaign. He has pleaded not guilty and vigorously denies the charges.
A conviction would bar Adams from holding public office in the Big Apple under city law.
The eyebrow-raising meeting — announced by City Hall Thursday night — was arranged by Adams’ camp last week, sources said.
But it was also the culmination of a months-long, not-so-odd couple political flirtation between Adams and Trump.
Trump, shortly after Adams’ historic indictment in September, repeatedly expressed his opinion that the federal case was political retribution for the mayor speaking out on the migrant crisis.
“I said, ‘well, he’s going to be indicted by these lunatics for saying that,’” Trump said during an October rally at Madison Garden. “A year later, he got indicted.”
In turn, Adams said he’d welcome Trump’s support — and quietly started stacking his legal defense team with attorneys linked to the once-and-future president.
He publicly cozied up to Trump as well, slamming fellow Democrats for comparing him to Hitler, echoing his hardline stance on some sanctuary city policies after a cordial meeting with incoming border czar Tom Homan and warmly greeting him at a UFC bout.
Trump last month said he’d consider pardoning the embattled mayor, telling reporters: “I think that he was treated pretty unfairly.”
Adams getting cleared soon would allow him to start campaigning unimpeded, giving him months instead of weeks before the June Democratic primary to win over voters who have largely soured on his scandal-plagued tenure as New York City’s mayor.
“It’s hard enough for him to run for re-election in a June primary without an indictment hanging over his head, especially when his numbers are in the toilet,” said Democratic operatic Ken Frydman.
“Take the pardon and deal with the political, media and public fallout. I wouldn’t advise him to roll the dice on going to trial.”
Rumors that Adams would push for a pardon began reaching a fever pitch in the days before his sit-down with Trump, as the mayor was spotted dining with with Trump surrogate and Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman — a dinner date conspicuously absent from his schedule.
Adams and Blakeman didn’t discuss Trump, but instead chatted about violent gangs plaguing Long Island, City Hall officials insisted.
The two were joined by Howard Fensterman, a Long Island businessman and the law partner of Carone.
Carone, a longtime Adams pal and one of the lunch guests, was at Gracie Mansion with Adams when news broke about the indictment in September. He also has a house near Mar-a-Lago.
Even diehard Adams allies have said a Trump pardon would be a deal-breaker for their support.
“The flirting with Trump is not helpful for him in the black community,” the Rev. Al Sharpton recently told Politico. “If I was between a rock and a hard place and the only one that could deliver me is Donald Trump I would be preparing for my bye-bye.”
Trump and his team didn’t immediately return requests for comment.
Adams, in his statement, shot back at any critics who would be unhappy he met with Trump.
“To be clear, we did not discuss my legal case, and those who suggest the mayor of the largest city in the nation shouldn’t meet with the incoming president to discuss our city’s priorities because of inaccurate speculation or because we’re from different parties clearly care more about politics than people,” he said.
— Additional reporting by Diana Glebova