NEW YORK (WABC) -- New York City Mayor Eric Adams did not hold back as he returned to public duties on Thursday.
He had not been seen since last week after taking himself out of the mix and undergoing some routine medical testing to determine why he wasn't feeling well.
His first appearance Thursday was at a police foundation event in Lower Manhattan where the police commissioner welcomed him back to the fold.
He received a warm round of applause as Commissioner Jessica Tisch made it clear that Adams is the mayor who supports the NYPD
"Thank you for the trust you have placed in the brave men and women of the NYPD, when people called to defund the police, you defended them, and when you needed to make the tough but necessary policy decisions to make our city safer, you did so, and had faith that New York's finest would deliver," Tisch said.
Next, Adams attended an interfaith breakfast at the New York Public Library where the mayor gave a fiery speech and took aim at people who questioned his whereabouts.
"Who started the stupid rumor that I was stepping down on Friday? Are you out of your mind?" Adams asked. "Yes, last week was a scary week for me, it was hard, I'm not going to lie to you and you've got to trust in God."
The mayor did not explain what doctors and medical tests may or may not have found.
He spoke for 25 minutes without notes, slamming his critics while defending his stance on immigration.
"We're going to be here to protect you and that you should have an opportunity to thrive in the city," he said. "We believe that that's who we are. But let's be one thing clear. You would not be in this city if you shoot a police officer, rape a girl, commit a crime, commit violence and we are not going to be a safe haven for those who believe they're going to exploit our American dream."
But he did appear to enjoy a moment at the breakfast when hundreds of clergy chanted to the embattled incumbent, "four more years."
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