The comments from Adams, the top Democrat in one of the country's most liberal cities, riled critics who have grown concerned over the mayor's increasing willingness to throw his support behind Trump and his hard-line immigration policies.

Adams, who faces federal corruption charges, was a registered Republican in the 1990s and early 2000s but has spent his political career as a Democrat.

In a Friday morning interview with local cable news station NY1, Adams was asked if he would consider a return to the GOP. The Democrat appeared to leave open the possibility of a switch.

"The party that's the most important for me is the American party," he said. "I'm a part of the American party. I love this country. This is the home of the free, the land of the brave."

In another interview about a half-hour later on PIX11, Adams said he would run for reelection as a Democrat but still appeared to leave some wiggle room for his future.

"So no matter what party I'm on or vote on, I'm going to push for the American values," he said. "And I think America has told us, 'Stop the squabbling, leaders, and start leading us out of the crisis that we're facing.'"

Adams won office on a centrist platform and has spent significant time as mayor quarreling with the progressive wing of his party. But his rhetoric has taken a noticeable rightward turn in the weeks since Trump's election victory, particularly on immigration, with Adams boosting the president-elect's platform and appearing enthusiastic about the incoming administration.

Rather than restricting cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, as he once promised, Adams recently expressed a willingness to roll back the city's so-called sanctuary policies, and he plans to meet with Trump's top border official over concerns about what the mayor said was the "rising illegal alien crime rate in New York City."