Transcript: Mayor Adams Appears Live on CNN's 'The Situation Room With Wolf Blitzer'

April 30, 2024

Wolf Blitzer: Joining us on the phone right now the mayor of New York City, Eric Adams. Mayor, thank you very much for joining us. I know this is an incredibly anxious and busy time for you. We're showing our viewers right now some pictures from the University of Texas at Austin, this is happening right now. This as Columbia University in your City of New York has begun to threaten at least the start suspending students as demonstrators are still standing their ground. What do you make of these scenes?

Mayor Eric Adams: First, I want to push back on the comments that was made that because the Police Department went on Columbia grounds after they were asked to come in, that it sparked this wave of protest. That is not true. We've had over 500 protests in the city that were peacefully managed by the New York City Police Department dealing with after the massacre on October 7th. We're going to continue to respect the school's ability to determine how they want to resolve these issues.

Protest is part of the foundation of our society. I protested as a young person, as a college student to dismantle Apartheid. We know what protest is. It's not illegal to protest, but it's immoral to call for the destruction of a group or race or ethnicity. I think that is what's put the consciousness of many people in this city.

Blitzer: Mayor, what's your message to the students at Columbia right now? As mayor, how are you monitoring this situation to ensure that all the students, the faculty and the others on the campus are safe?

Mayor Adams: If you do an analysis, you're seeing that there are no injuries to students. There are no injuries to the protesters. The Police Department has maintained the discipline that is needed. We cannot go on college grounds without the permission of the faculty, the president and the other members of the institutions. If they request us to go on to dismantle tents or any illegal behavior, we'll do so or if there's an imminent threat to someone's life or serious [inaudible], we will also go on the grounds as well.

Blitzer: As mayor, Columbia University vowed not to bring in, bring back NYPD to the campus after it arrested more than 100 protesters last week, saying it would be, quote, counterproductive and further inflaming what is happening on campus. What other resources can New York offer to help to try to de-escalate this situation?

Mayor Adams: First, their request of not having police back on the grounds, that comes with an asterisk. They did request we go to, NYPD goes to the various entry points because they were finding that a large number of people who were on the ground did not attend the school, seeing that there are individuals who are not students that are playing a major role in the organizing and some of the disruptive behavior like we saw at NYU, where bottles and chairs were thrown at the police while they were there.

And so our goal is to continue to have the meetings, the conversations, and bring people together of various religious and ethnic groups to see how we can play a major role in turning down the temperature so that we can all live in the city in a uniform manner. Allow people to voice their concerns, but we should do it without some of the disgusting hatred tones that we heard, and we will not tolerate any violence in this city. There's no room for hate in this city.

Blitzer: Let's hope that happens. Mayor, thanks so much for joining us, the New York City Mayor Eric Adams Good luck to you. Good luck to everyone in New York right now.

Mayor Adams: Thank you. Take care.

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