NYC mayor mocked for saying city has ‘swagger’ amid record Covid surge

The new mayor of New York City raised eyebrows by boasting that his swagger is rubbing off on the city - then saying that locals were “beaten down and wallowing in Covid”.

It led to some people to mock him, asking whether this apparent ‘swagger’ is also a cure for a virus that has killed 60,000 people state-wide.

“When a mayor has swagger, the city has swagger,” he said, triggering chuckles at an outdoor event on his third day in office.

“We’ve allowed people to beat us down so much, that all we did was wallow in Covid.”

He made the comments while vowing that schools would stay open despite record case numbers in the Big Apple.

“We need a mayor with swagger, we need a councilwoman with swagger, we need assemblywomen with swagger, we need a borough president with swagger, we need a chancellor with swagger, we need a police commissioner with swagger,” the mayor went on.

“This is New York, it’s a privilege to live in New York, and the leadership should have that swagger. That’s what has been missing in this city.”

People were, of course, quick to mock his comments. One person pointed out that it’s medically impossible to “swagger your way through Covid”:

Some wondered just how bad things could have got in the city if he’d been mayor at the start of the pandemic:

Could people have swaggered their way out of a pandemic? Probably not:

One guy said Eric Adams was confusing weirdness for swagger. Burn.

Another person shared a picture of a heavy duty mask and the word ‘swagger’ - underlining the levels some people feel they have to go to dodge Covid in the city right now.

One creative sort pictured a potential movie, featuring Mayor Swagger with a hubris super-power. We’re into it.

Adams is a colourful politician who is likely to dominate NYC headlines over the coming months and years.

The 61-year-old former state legislator and retired New York City Police Department captain insists he’ll be making some notable changes in the city.

Drama seems to follow him around, and on his first day in office he ended up calling the police after seeing two men brawling in the street.

Today we reported on a lesser-reported aspect of the pandemic - the new hobbies picked up during lockdown that are leading to hospitalisations.