NEW YORK — Fresh off of announcing he’ll seek reelection as an independent, Mayor Eric Adams assailed Democrats on Friday for not focusing on “items that are crucial to working class people” like affordability — but he stayed clear of criticizing President Donald Trump’s hardline tariff policy, which is driving up prices on various popular consumer goods.

Adams, who dropped out of the Democratic mayoral primary Wednesday, took the swipe at his own party in a morning television appearance when asked what went into his bombshell decision to opt for an independent bid for a second term.

“I don’t think the party is clearly fighting on behalf of those items that are crucial to working class people: Affordability, public safety, housing; these are all kitchen table issues that we should be zeroed in on and that is what my focus would be,” Adams said on PIX11.

Asked later in the same appearance if he’s concerned Trump’s aggressive tariffs will hit New Yorkers’ pocketbooks, Adams demurred.

“That is the job of the president. I do not control tariffs,” he said.

Adams, who’s facing outrage from New York Democrats over the budding relationship he’s developed with Trump amid his federal corruption case, even went as far as to echo the Republican president’s argument that his hardline trade levies are a response to other countries’ tariffs on the U.S.

“I think that there’s been some unfair tariffs that were hit on the country,” Adams said, later adding: “I think our national leaders need to figure out how to ensure that America is not treated unfairly.”

Trump’s Justice Department secured the dismissal of Adams’ historic corruption indictment earlier this week in a manner that has left many to believe the mayor’s beholden to the president’s agenda.

The presiding judge who agreed to approve the DOJ’s dismissal motion said he was only doing so because the law left him no other choice, but also defended the “merits” of the indictment and affirmed he had deep concerns about the ways in which the Trump administration dropped the case, writing “everything here smacks of a bargain.”

Adams — who committed to not publicly criticize Trump a few weeks before the DOJ first moved to drop his case — avoided chiming in on Trump’s trade policies at a time they are causing major anxiety among Americans.

This week, Trump announced his administration will place steep tariffs on every country trading with the U.S. That move has caused markets to plummet and is expected to drive up costs of everything from clothing and toys to computers and other tech consumer goods, according to economists.

Adams’ Trump ties are expected to be highlighted by many of the candidates in June’s Democratic mayoral primary.

Running as an independent in a New York City mayoral election is notoriously hard, and Adams acknowledged in the Friday morning television appearance it was a “difficult” decision to drop out of the Dem primary. He also revealed he made the decision “days” before the judge dropped his case, saying he came to the conclusion that too much time had passed for him to mount a serious primary campaign.

“It had nothing to do with polling,” Adams said, referring to polls consistently showing him performing poorly in the Democratic primary.

In another Friday morning appearance on Fox5, Adams suggested his decision to focus on running as an independent in November’s general mayoral election is about broadening his base.

“We have Republicans, Democrats, independents, right-to-lifers — that is the greatness of the city,” he said, referring to anti-abortion activists.

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