Resistance star Dan Goldman backs Zellnor Myrie to ‘speak out and stand up’ against Trump

As Rep. Dan Goldman heartily announced he was endorsing state Sen. Zellnor Myrie in the New York City mayoral race, he described Myrie as well-equipped to stand up to President Donald Trump on behalf of New Yorkers – and he expressed concerns that New York City Mayor Eric Adams is prioritizing his personal interests in light of his legal troubles.

“We need someone who is going to fight against those efforts to take away SNAP, to take away Medicaid, to take away Head Start. That’s what Donald Trump is doing,” Goldman, lead counsel in the president’s first impeachment, said from City Hall park Monday morning. “We need a mayor who will stand up for all of New Yorkers, and it’s millions who rely on those services.”

Earlier Monday morning, he’d declared his support for Myrie to hundreds of thousands of liberal, Trump-averse viewers on MSNBC’s Morning Joe show. Goldman pointed to a number of reasons fueling his endorsement of the relatively unknown Brooklyn senator – like Myrie’s “smart pragmatic policies,” including the “most progressive” housing policy of any mayoral candidate, his leadership in Albany, and the fact that he’s a “true visionary.” He repeatedly stressed the city’s need for strong leaders with strong convictions. Goldman charged that Adams is more focused on building a “personal relationship” with Trump and what it could do for his criminal case than focusing on what “New Yorkers really need.”

This idea of electing the next mayor on the basis of their ability to stand up to Trump could very well become a major refrain in this year’s Democratic primary – particularly as Adams, who was indicted in September on federal corruption charges, has seemingly embraced the president. As Goldman was promoting his endorsement, the mayor was meeting with top officials and urging them not to criticize the president, The City reported. 

Adams’ relationship with Trump – attending his inauguration, a private meeting at Trump’s Florida golf course, and his assertion that he won’t publicly criticize Trump – has fueled speculation that the mayor hopes to secure a pardon or dropped charges from the president. Adams has adamantly denied that the amicable relationship has anything to do with personal motivations. He’s argued that having a productive relationship with the Trump administration is beneficial to the city. 

While mayoral candidates didn’t immediately jump to position themselves as “progressive” alternatives to Trump in the aftermath of his victory – nor has standing up to the president been a major campaign focus for many candidates – some observers believe this may change now that Trump has taken office and the impacts of his policies are being felt on the ground. 

“We are in a leaderless city right now, and we are looking for someone to take that on,” said progressive consultant Camille Rivera of New Deal Strategies on the need for mayoral candidates to take a different approach to the Trump administration. “It’s just a no-brainer. It’s what many of us want. I don’t think it’s the only strategy, but I think it’s an important thread.”

Other candidates like New York City Comptroller Brad Lander, state Sen. Jessica Ramos, and former comptroller Scott Stringer have also condemned some of the Trump administration’s policies. But perhaps more than any other candidate, Myrie has sought in recent days to draw a sharp contrast between himself and Adams when it comes to Trump. Asked about congestion pricing Monday, Myrie defended the program, arguing that it’s having the intended effect. When Adams was asked last month about Trump’s threat to undo the month-old program, he said there’s not a whole lot he could do about it. On standing up to the president's sweeping deportation agenda, Myrie said Monday the Adams administration should rescind its controversial memo that told city employees they could let federal authorities into city buildings to search for undocumented immigrants without warrants if they “reasonably feel threatened.” Under his own administration, Myrie said, there would be clarity on what the city’s role is, what the law is, and what employees are expected to do.

“We need a mayor that is willing to stand up to the president when he is wrong and a mayor that’s willing to work with the president when he is right. That is the expectation of New Yorkers,” Myrie said. “If it is in the best interest of the city, then we can work together. If you are coming after New Yorkers, then we can and we must stand up.”

Chiming in, Goldman added that Myrie would have been “screaming from the rooftops” for the Trump administration to fully resume federal spending on essential services used by New Yorkers in wake of the president’s directive to freeze trillions of dollars in federal grants and loans late last month. “That’s the difference,” Goldman said. “Zellnor will not be afraid to speak out and stand up for what is right and what is just.”

Democratic strategist Trip Yang said emphasizing one's ability to stand up to Trump is a smart strategy for candidates running in the primary – both because the president remains deeply unpopular with Democratic voters and because there’s so much uncertainty around who will ultimately appear on the ballot. It’s no secret that former Gov. Andrew Cuomo is thinking about entering the race. There’s also still uncertainty around what impact Adams’ federal indictment, which he’s set to stand trial for in April, will ultimately have on whether he stays in the race. 

“We are in a historically uncertain time in the mayor’s race and because you don’t fully know as a candidate who you are going to be competing against on the June ballot it’s a very, very smart strategy to run your campaign saying, ‘I will stand up to Donald Trump the strongest, therefore you should vote for me,’” Yang said. 

It’s unclear how effective that particular specific approach will ultimately be. The 2025 mayoral race will really be one of the first tests for how New York Democrats confront the fact that New York City voters shifted to the right in the presidential election. While registered Democrats still outnumber Republicans six to one, gains for Trump were seen across all five boroughs in November. This was particularly pronounced in working class, immigrant and communities of color in southern Brooklyn, and parts of Queens and the Bronx. Adams has pointed to that shift as validation for his politics and approach to running the city. 

Of course, the New York City Democratic mayoral primary is about a lot more than what the future relationship between the mayor and the Trump administration will look like. There are many other factors at play. Public safety, housing and other quality of life issues remain highly important to voters, though there is certainly overlap in some cases between that and the Trump administration’s agenda. 

“At the end of the day, the mayor’s race is a local race. It’s not a race that is going to be won or lost, even on the margins, with respect to the federal government and what’s happening in Washington. It’s going to be decided on local issues,” said Democratic consultant Lupe Todd-Medina. “Sen. Myrie coming out with his strong position on congestion pricing is something that is more of interest to the New Yorker City voter for this mayoral race than anything having to do with the guy in the White House.”