Mayor Adams is catching heat for a speech he made in which he called his detractors “negroes” during a reception Tuesday for Black History Month.

The mayor — who is currently awaiting trial for soliciting illegal foreign campaign contributions — also compared himself to Jesus, insinuating that he, too, is a victim of persecution.

“All these negroes who were asking me to step down, God forgive them,” he said during a speech at Gracie Mansion. “This is a biblical moment. When Jesus was on the cross, He said, ‘God, forgive them, for they know not what they do.'”

The mayor made the comments after telling a story from his days as an officer with the New York Police Department. He once pulled over his squad car in the pouring rain to help civilians with their stalled vehicle and then proceeded to run down a list of his accomplishments as mayor, claiming record amounts of affordable housing, an increase in new jobs, and guns taken off the city’s streets.

“What we have done, you have to be stupid to try to stop me from running this race. It’s a level of buffoonery that’s going on that’s spreading as fast as COVID.”

On Wednesday morning, Mr. Adams was called to task for the curious comments during an interview with Good Day NY on FOX5. “Are you implying if you’re black, you have to support you,” co-host Curt Menefee asked.

“No, not at all. I’m asking for all New Yorkers to support me,” replied Mr. Adams.

Mr. Menefee then followed up, asking the mayor to whom he was explicitly referring during his speech. Mr. Adams seemed to become irate in his response.

“Well, who has asked me to step down? If you look at that whole speech, the speech talked about the continuation of lighting your flame and continuing to light and shine. And that’s what we’ve done in this administration with our team,” he said. “So, those who have called for me to allow my flame to be prematurely extinguished, that’s who I’m talking about.”

He also appeared to double down on his original comments.

“I have not been convicted of a crime. I’ve moved the city forward. I’ve done the job that New Yorkers asked me to do,” he said. “And so, when you have those that are trying to usurp the power of the people, that is not democracy, and God forgive them.”

Clips of the interview went viral on social media.

“Curt Menefee turned that wok on and slowly slid that man down into the fire,” comedian Roy Wood Jr. said in a post on X, prompting Justice Correspondent for The Nation, Elie Mystal, to respond.

“OH MY GOODNESS, I SUDDENLY WANT TO GO TO HEAVEN SO I CAN SEE THIS CLIP FOREVER,” he said.

Others criticized Mr. Adams for comparing himself to Jesus.

“My favorite part of the Bible is when Jesus changed his password right before giving his phone to the feds, and then claimed he forgot the new password,” NYS Assemblyman and upcoming candidate for Mayor Zohran Kwami Mamdani said on X.