Eric Adams Looked Miserable At Zohran Mamdani's Inauguration & Everyone Noticed

In recent years, some rather amusing photos have come out of major political inaugurations. At Donald Trump's first presidential inauguration in 2017, former President George W. Bush went viral for all the wrong reasons when he was photographed desperately trying to figure out how his rain poncho was supposed to work. And, of course, who could forget Joe Biden's presidential inauguration in 2021, when a bundled-up Bernie Sanders looked like he would have rather been anywhere else. Sanders himself seemed fairly nonplussed by his mittens going viral, remarking that he was simply dressed against the cold. At any rate, it seems we have another for the collection, as former New York City Mayor Eric Adams looked positively miserable at successor Zohran Mamdani's inauguration — and people definitely noticed.

After his bid for re-election turned into an unmitigated disaster, Adams probably wasn't too keen on watching his job change hands in real time. Nevertheless, he was on hand to see Mamdani's mayoral inauguration, presumably out of a sense of professional obligation. That doesn't mean he was happy about it, though, and X (formerly known as Twitter) had a bit of a field day as a result. "Former mayor Eric Adams is looking like he really doesn't wanna be here right now," an X user wrote, referring to a photo of Adams looking dejected among the inauguration crowd.

In a prime example of "same planet, different worlds," a separate photo shows Adams continuing to look sad while the aforementioned Bernie Sanders can be seen laughing hysterically nearby. One X user called this an "iconic moment." (Oh, and, in case you were wondering, Sanders appeared to be wearing fingered gloves in lieu of his iconic mittens this time around.)

Iconic moment. pic.twitter.com/JF88JIsZqH

— Jeet Heer (@HeerJeet) January 2, 2026

Admittedly, it isn't overly surprising that Eric Adams looked less-than-enthused. The past two years were far from perfect for Adams, who was elected Mayor of New York City in 2021. In September 2024, Adams was indicted on corruption charges dating back to his time as the borough president of Brooklyn. Nevertheless, he went ahead with his bid for re-election in 2025, albeit opting to eschew the Democratic Party entirely and run as an independent. But although the Trump administration dropped the federal charges against Adams in April 2025, the damage was evidently done. In September 2025, Adams formally withdrew from the race.

Adams' fall from grace was matched only by Zohran Mamdani's meteoric rise. Mamdani, who gained widespread support running on a platform of affordability, won the New York Democratic mayoral primary in the summer of 2025. He then moved on to the final race, which pitted him against Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa and independent candidate Andrew Cuomo, who had secured a begrudging endorsement from President Donald Trump. But Mamdani, who had made an enemy of Trump, would ultimately win the day in early November to secure the mayorship.

Funny enough, Trump appeared to come around on Mamdani somewhat after their meeting in November 2025 (even if some have questioned the president's motives). Adams evidently still holds a grudge against Mamdani, having seemingly used his final days in office to undermine his successor's plans. More specifically, Adams made a move that would all but halt Mamdani's efforts to build affordable housing at the current site of the Elizabeth Street Garden. In response, Mamdani remarked, "It is no surprise that Mayor Adams is using his final weeks and months to cement a legacy of dysfunction and inconsistency" (via CBS News).