Fox News Host Hammers Mayor Eric Adams for His Reaction to DeSantis Visiting NYC
Fox Business Network host Charles Payne had a mic drop moment on the Fox News program “Outnumbered” on Tuesday addressing a tweet New York City Mayor Eric Adams posted attacking Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
DeSantis, who is expected to launch a presidential bid later this year, was the featured speaker at a Staten Island event on Monday about law enforcement policies.
Ahead of the Florida governor’s visit, Adams tweeted, “Welcome to NYC, [Gov. Ron DeSantis], a place where we don’t ban books, discriminate against our LGBTQ+ neighbors, use asylum seekers as props, or let the government stand between a woman and health care.”
“We’re happy to teach you something about values while you’re here,” the mayor added.
Welcome to NYC, @GovRonDeSantis, a place where we don’t ban books, discriminate against our LGBTQ+ neighbors, use asylum seekers as props, or let the government stand between a woman and health care.
We’re happy to teach you something about values while you’re here. https://t.co/o2CgOt1SES
— Mayor Eric Adams (@NYCMayor) February 20, 2023
DeSantis spokeswoman Christina Pushaw responded to Adams, tweeting, “Nice rhetoric — but here’s reality: More Americans fled NYC than any other metro area last year.”
“More Americans moved to Florida than any other state,” she continued. “You know this, Mayor Adams, and you’ve talked (accurately) about crime pushing people out of NYC. Florida’s crime rate meanwhile is at a 50 year low.”
Pushaw concluded, “Maybe it’s you who can learn from [Ron DeSantis]?”
Nice rhetoric — but here’s reality: More Americans fled NYC than any other metro area last year.
More Americans moved to Florida than any other state.
You know this, Mayor Adams, and you’ve talked (accurately) about crime pushing people out of NYC. Florida’s crime rate… https://t.co/gHru8I12PS
— Christina Pushaw 🐊 🇺🇸 (@ChristinaPushaw) February 20, 2023
Payne, appearing as a guest co-host on “Outnumbered,” discussed the back-and-forth on Tuesday.
He found Pushaw’s rebuttal to Adams too tame: Team DeSantis “could have been a lot harder,” he said.
The Fox News regular addressed multiple topics contained in the New York mayor’s tweet.
“Let’s start with ‘a place where you don’t ban books.’ You might as well ban them in New York City because our kids can’t read. Ban them and burn them because if you don’t teach our kids how to read, what the hell good are books in the first place?” Payne said.
.@cvpayne goes absolute BEAST MODE on NYC Mayor Eric Adams, destroys every last shred of Democrat-run city experiments
What a complete mic drop. Just watch.🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/PLKWoFTjuz
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) February 21, 2023
Last week on Fox’s “America’s Newsroom,” Payne said that black students in New York City schools before the pandemic were three years behind white students and four years behind Asian students.
He anticipates it will be worse after the post-pandemic numbers come out.
Public education is facing a crisis of epic proportions. Very powerful words from @cvpayne:
“Of all the things going on in this country, this should rank in the top three…We’re talking about Americans who have to carry the torch for future generations.” @DanaPerino pic.twitter.com/fUfcDm9QyE
— America’s Newsroom (@AmericaNewsroom) February 13, 2023
Payne next addressed Adams’ charge that Florida discriminates against LGBT people, arguing that’s not what he’s observed among his friends and family who identify with that community.
“First minute they get, they’re off to Florida, OK? They leave New York for Florida every weekend. … Give me a break on that one,” Payne said.
He then took aim at Adams’ implied allegation that DeSantis was being heartless toward illegal immigrants when he flew a group of them to Martha’s Vineyard last fall.
“Democrats should be embarrassed,” Payne said. “They tell the world, ‘Get here. Cross that border and we got your back.’”
“As soon as they go to the richest places in America — New York City, Martha’s Vineyard — ‘We can’t afford them. We’re afraid. We’re clutching our pearls. How dare they send these people up here?’”
“You got a lot more money than these border towns,” Payne pointed out. “You keep telling the world. You roll out the red carpet. You encourage women to take multi-thousand-mile treks, through coyotes, through rough terrain, through terrible weather. Their daughters are getting raped. You’re doing this. You put this advertising out.”
The Fox News personality concluded, “The Democrats own this, 100 percent. This whole tweet is garbage.”
“Outnumbered” co-host Kayleigh McEnany responded to Payne’s takedown of Adams’ tweet, “That was a mic drop.”
A version of this article originally appeared on Patriot Project.
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