Adams previously said he does not view Trump as a fascist, saying he knows “what a fascist regime looks like.” However, when the Democratic mayor was pressed on the question again Tuesday, he called it “insulting” and contended that the country still needs to be “the United States and not the divided states” once the 2024 presidential election is over.

“So I refuse to participate in that,” Adams said. “I’m going to fight for New Yorkers like I’ve done for years, and whomever can’t understand that, they’re not in the streets. When I’m at these town halls talking to people there, they’re not asking me these silly questions. We are in this bubble, and I know you guys really believe these stories you’re writing. It gives you a lot of clicks. It’s exciting. It gives you headlines. But this is not what New Yorkers and Americans are dealing with, folks. They are scared of their future.”

Adams concluded that “someone” should speak up and say “enough of this” in an effort to turn down the political temperature within the country. He added that voters ought to “hear the facts” from the press so they can make their own decisions.

“And that’s my position, I cannot make it any clearer,” Adams said.

Last month, Adams was indicted on federal corruption charges, making him the first mayor in New York history to be indicted while in office. He has maintained his innocence despite the indictment.

Trump addressed Adams’s indictment during an interview earlier this month, noting that the mayor was indicted after Adams “came out” against the city’s illegal immigration. Trump added that he is unsure if the indictments are “legit,” but he said it seems “very suspicious when he comes out against something.”

The former president referenced Adams on Sunday during his Madison Square Garden rally in New York, thanking the mayor for not calling him a dictator. He also said Adams has been “treated pretty badly.”