Democratic mayoral nominee Eric Adams on Thursday walked back his criticism of the timing of Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s gun violence prevention plan — a day after wondering what took so long for the governor to propose measures to combat the shooting surge.
“When I said ‘about time,’ it was not a criticism of Governor Cuomo; it was a criticism of our country,” Adams said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”
“We’ve had this national emergency going on, but it was ignored,” he added. “It is time for the federal, state, the city [governments] to align itself.”
Adams’ swift reversal came in response to the Rev. Al Sharpton’s question on the morning program about his outlook on addressing gun violence at all levels of government.
Sharpton summarized the retired NYPD captain’s previous remarks on the governor’s blueprint by saying Adams said, “Oh, it’s about time.”
On Wednesday, Adams implied Cuomo was a Johnny-come-lately on battling gun violence.
“My first question is, what took so long?” Adams said Wednesday morning on CBS, when asked about the third-term governor’s gun violence prevention plan.
“And why has it taken us so long, watching these babies die, year after year after year?” he went on. “No one seems to care.”
Cuomo’s seven-point gun violence prevention plan included $138 million in added funds in an attempt to stop the recent increase in shootings.
“It’s a matter of saving lives — and New York’s future depends on it,” Cuomo said Tuesday at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in Manhattan.