Palm Beach, Florida - President-elect Donald Trump has said he would consider issuing a pardon for New York City Mayor Eric Adams, who is facing damning allegations of fraud and bribery.

During a press conference on Monday, Trump was asked if he would ever consider the move, to which he said he would "certainly look at" the possibility as he believed Adams has been "treated pretty unfairly."

"Now, I haven't seen the gravity of it all, but it seems like being upgraded in an airplane many years ago – I know probably everybody here has been upgraded," Trump said, attempting to downplay the allegations against Adams.

He went on to suggest that the only reason Adams was indicted for the allegations was because the mayor criticized President Joe Biden's handling of the country's immigration system – an unfounded claim Trump has repeatedly made about his own legal troubles.

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"I said it not as a prediction, a little lightheartedly, but I said it – I said he's going to be indicted, and a few months later he got indicted," Trump argued. "So I would certainly look at it."

In the last few years, New York has seen a spike in its immigrant population. Adams has clashed with critics and the media over his rhetoric surrounding the issue, and he just recently called for any undocumented migrant accused of a crime to be deported, even without a conviction.

By September 2024, Adams was indicted on allegations of wire fraud, soliciting illegal campaign donations, and a bribery conspiracy involving Turkish citizens and at least one Turkish official – all of which he has pled not guilty to.

With his aggressive immigration rhetoric and recent indictment, some critics have been comparing Adams to Trump, which has scored him points with MAGA and even sparked rumors that he may convert back to being a Republican – though he's called the claim "fake news."