Democratic New York City Mayor Eric Adam faced criticism on social media Wednesday for comparing New York City to Port-Au-Prince, Haiti.
Adams stirred up backlash by tweeting about New York City and Port-Au-Prince during a time of political turmoil in Haiti. “We call New York City the Port-Au-Prince of America. We feel the pain our Haitian neighbors feel as the situation grows dire,” Adams wrote on Twitter. “To the people of Haiti and our own Haitian community here in New York City, know that we stand with you today and always.”
We call New York City the Port-Au-Prince of America. We feel the pain our Haitian neighbors feel as the situation grows dire.
To the people of Haiti and our own Haitian community here in New York City, know that we stand with you today and always.
— Mayor Eric Adams (@NYCMayor) March 13, 2024
The claim that New Yorkers often compare their city to Port-Au-Prince received immediate criticism. “Not one person has ever said this before Eric Adams,” the community note stated. (RELATED: I Hereby Invite Rainn Wilson To Parachute Into Haiti And Fix Everything)
Who the fuck has ever said that?
— Covfefe Anon (@CovfefeAnon) March 13, 2024
I’ve lived here my entire life and I’ve never heard anyone say that
— HowlingMutant (@Howlingmutant0) March 13, 2024
Lots of replies saying that nobody calls NYC “the Port-Au-Prince of America”. A Google search for that term gave me 20+ results – but every single one of them referred to Eric Adams. When I searched for the phrase without Adams’ name, Google literally gave me ZERO results. 🤣 pic.twitter.com/RKKsp1Gu3B
— Kelley K (@KelleyKga) March 13, 2024
The City Hall responded to the criticisms and lamented that the focus was misplaced on the mayor’s metaphor rather than his intent to support Haitian individuals amid the country’s crisis.
“It’s a shame that the Post is focused on a link to a Wikipedia page instead of Mayor Adams’ efforts to support those in Haiti and New York who are struggling,” a city hall spokesperson said in a statement, according to New York Post.
New York City is home to a significant Haitian population, with over 82,000 residents born in Haiti, the New York Post reported.
The U.S. is sending Marine Corps anti-terrorism units to protect its embassy as the chaos on the ground continues to spread. Former Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry recently failed to create a transitional government and later resigned.