President-elect Donald Trump appeared to thank New York City Mayor Eric Adams when the two crossed paths at Saturday night’s UFC event at Madison Square Garden, according to a lip reader.
Jeremy Freeman, a certified lip-reading expert, told The Daily Mail after reviewing footage of the encounter that the two appeared to have a warm, intimate conversation as they shook hands.
“Oh Eric…” Trump told the mayor before his face was blocked by Adams’ head, according to Freeman.
He continued to tell Hizzoner “Not really. Thank you for all the…” before he is once again cut off in the clip.
The moment came days after Adams publicly congratulated Trump on his election victory and then privately called him.
Trump, who was convicted for falsifying business records in Manhattan earlier this year, has appeared sympathetic towards Adams in the past as he faces his own federal charges related to an alleged bribery scheme related to a Turkish government official and other foreign nationals.
“We were persecuted, Eric. I was persecuted, and so are you, Eric,” Trump told the mayor at last month’s Al Smith Dinner.
Adams, the first sitting New York mayor ever to be indicted, has pleaded not guilty and said he still plans to run for reelection.
Adams and Trump claim he was targeted by the Department of Justice over his outspoken criticisms of the Biden-Harris administration’s handling of the migrant crisis — as hundreds of thousands of illegal migrants have flooded the Big Apple.
Some in the mayor’s camp believeTrump will hamper the case — or even toss a potential conviction, sources told The Post.