Brian Laird on WNYC.

Now it's time for our usual Wednesday visit from our lead Eric Adams reporter, Elizabeth Kim.

After what is usually the mayor's Tuesday weekly news conference, the only time all week he takes questions from reporters on topics that they choose.

For the last couple of weeks, Adams has held that news conference on Monday, but Liz is with us

today and with the re-election campaign that's facing fundraising challenges, the hiring of a

controversial new first deputy mayor associated more with the likes

of Chris Christie and Rudy Giuliani than any Democrat.

And collaboration with federal immigration authorities, there's plenty to discuss.

Hey, Liz, happy Wednesday.

Happy Wednesday, Brian.

So let's start with the first clip.

Mayor Adams dismissed concerns about his lagging campaign fundraising.

He said this.

Never count New York out and never count Eric out.

That's the rule of the day.

Simple.

What do his latest fundraising numbers actually tell us?

So he raised about $19,000 in two months, and that's a pretty paltry amount

for an incumbent, right? It really signals how weak and unpopular the mayor is. Now, I think it is

important to point out that it's not like the mayor doesn't have any money.

You know, he's been rejected from matching funds in this round.

He has said that he wants to, he hopes to get it in a subsequent round.

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