New York Mayor Eric Adams said he will continue seeking re-election as an independent, denying reports he will drop out and become the U.S. ambassador to Saudi Arabia.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams speaks at his reelection campaign event on the steps of City Hall on June 25. Adams said Friday that he won't drop out of the race as an independent. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI UPI

Sept. 6 (UPI) -- New York Mayor Eric Adams said he will continue seeking re-election as an independent, denying reports he will drop out and become the U.S. ambassador to Saudi Arabia.

Adams lost to New York Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani in the June Democratic primary. The Nov. 4 general election field includes former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who also was defeated in the primary, and Republican Curtis Sliwa. Mamdani is the front-runner in the race to lead the city of 8.5 million people, the largest in the nation.

"Serving New Yorkers as their mayor is the only job I've ever wanted. I'm proud of the progress we've made lowering crime, improving schools, building housing, and cutting costs for working families -- and I remain the best person to lead this city forward," Adams said in a statement posted Friday on X. "While I will always listen if called to serve our country, no formal offers have been made. I am still running for reelection, and my full focus is on the safety and quality of life of every New Yorker."

The New York Times reported that Adams' close advisers have been seeking to have President Donald Trump nominate him for the ambassador post. Sliwa also reportedly will be offered a position in the Trump administration, though the Republican said publicly he isn't interested in working there.

"Eric Adams knows he can't win [in November] and is exploring his options," a source close to the mayor said of the impending meeting to the New York Post. "Does he want to be an ambassador? Sure, but that has to be appointed by the president and the president has not asked him."

"I'm in Washington on Monday. Those reports are wrong. I'm not," Adams said Friday at a press event.

On Thursday, Trump said that he would prefer two candidates to "drop out" to enable a third to take on Mamdani. And he labeled the 33-year-old Mamdani, who identifies as a democratic socialist, as a "communist."

"Zohran Mamdani, a 100% Communist Lunatic, has just won the Dem Primary, and is on his way to becoming Mayor," Trump wrote on Truth Social on June 25, one day after the primary. "We've had Radical Lefties before, but this is getting a little ridiculous. He looks TERRIBLE, his voice is grating, he's not very smart."

Steve Witkoff, who is Trump's special envoy, met with Adams earlier this week in Florida, The New York Times reported.

Adams has been highly critical of the former governor,

"Andrew Cuomo is a snake and a liar," Adams said Friday at a news conference. "I am the only one who can beat Mamdani."

Adams had been indicted on corruption charges but in February, the Justice Department dropped dropped the case. DOJ officials said Adams' help was needed in an immigration crackdown in the city.

Trump has said Adams was persecuted for political purposes and acknowledged that he "helped him out a little bit."

The ambassador post in Saudi Arabia would fit Adams' interests.

Adams, who is Christian, has traveled to the Middle Eastern nation, including a celebration of the 1,500th anniversary of the birth of the Prophet Mohammad.

"Those who are of the Muslim faith, close to a million here in the city of New York, crossing the entire span of the globe, they matter," Adams said Thursday at an event with Muslim leaders. "And when I visited Saudi Arabia, when I visited Jordan, when I visited Oman, when I visit part of the African diaspora and watched the Muslim population there, they truly believe in peace, they believe in forgiveness, and they believe in the prosperity of the countries they are in, and particularly this city."