Jumaane Williams

The 2026 inauguration speech

Williams's most widely shared public moment came on January 1, 2026, at the inauguration of Mayor Zohran Mamdani, where Williams was sworn in for a third term as Public Advocate. The speech was billed as an opening act for Mamdani's address, but Williams drew the most attention when he broke into tears after taking the oath 1.

He addressed his childhood self with a message about self-worth, telling the crowd, "Little Black boy, you are worth it, and you always were" 1. The speech, which drew on his lifelong openness about Tourette syndrome and ADHD, was widely covered and circulated on video, including by Democracy Now! and in the New York Times reporting 1,2. It exemplified the personal-vulnerability register that has become a signature of his public speaking.

Protest oratory

A defining feature of Williams's public presence is his frequent appearance at protests, often as a speaker and sometimes as an arrestee. He has delivered remarks at:

Housing Justice for All rallies for Good Cause eviction and tenant protections, including outside the Real Estate Board of New York's Midtown offices in April 2024, where he was arrested in an act of civil disobedience 3.

Anti-ICE and immigration-rights protests, including a 2025 Foley Square rally against a Trump travel ban, where he criticized both the administration and Mayor Eric Adams 4.

Rallies to halt solitary confinement, where he has been photographed with a megaphone 5.

This protest-stage presence is central to his "activist-elected official" identity and distinguishes his media profile from that of officials who operate primarily through press releases and studio interviews.

Debates

Williams participated in the major debates of his statewide campaigns. During the 2022 gubernatorial primary, he debated Hochul and Tom Suozzi, drawing clear ideological contrasts: Williams ran to Hochul's left on tenant protections and single-payer healthcare, while Suozzi ran to her right on crime and bail 6. He also appeared in extended candidate interviews, including a segment on PBS's New York NOW discussing his gubernatorial vision 7.

Television and broadcast interviews

Williams is a regular guest on New York political television. His appearances include:

NY1's "Inside City Hall" with Bobby Cuza, where he discussed the solitary confinement bill in 2022 8.

Fox 5 New York's "Good Day," including coverage during the 2024 period when Mayor Adams's indictment raised questions about mayoral succession 9.

Regular availability to local outlets, including amNewYork, Gothamist, City & State, and the Amsterdam News 3,10.

The Worst Landlords Watchlist

One of Williams's most effective recurring media vehicles is the annual Worst Landlords Watchlist, which his office releases each year to name the city's most-cited building owners 10. The list reliably generates local news coverage and gives Williams a regular, data-driven platform to advance his housing agenda. It also became a double-edged sword in 2025, when critics used it to frame the foreclosure of his own rental property as hypocrisy, a controversy covered in detail in the controversies section of this series.

Press conferences and official media

As Public Advocate, Williams uses his office's communications channels actively, issuing frequent statements and holding press conferences on issues from solitary confinement to police accountability to housing 5,11. His office's website and social channels function as a steady stream of advocacy messaging. The volume of his official legislative and press output is consistent with his self-positioning as one of the more active holders of the office.

Media persona and the partisan divide

Williams's media persona is that of a passionate, movement-aligned advocate who is unafraid of confrontation, including physical arrest, and who frequently invokes personal vulnerability. Supporters and sympathetic outlets describe him as authentic and morally serious. The New York Post and conservative media, by contrast, have run a steady stream of critical coverage on his office's productivity, the foreclosure controversy, and his rhetoric, and Williams has at times responded by comparing his critics to President Trump 4.

This dynamic means that Williams's media footprint looks quite different depending on which outlets a reader follows: a principled progressive conscience in one ecosystem, a polarizing activist in the other. The documented record, his speeches, his arrests, his legislative work, and his interviews, is the common ground beneath the divergent framing.

Music video cameos and cultural footprint

Beyond conventional political media, Williams has a minor cultural footprint dating to his youth, having appeared in the background of music videos for EPMD's "Da Joint" and The Solo's "Touch Me" 12. He has spoken about these appearances with humor in interviews, and they form part of the personal biography material that has helped him connect with younger and culturally engaged audiences.

Looking forward

Williams's media approach, rooted in oratory and protest rather than viral social content, has proven durable across more than 15 years. In the Mamdani era, with a mayor who pioneered a viral-video political style, Williams represents a somewhat older model of progressive media presence: the movement speaker rather than the content creator.

Whether his style continues to cut through in an increasingly social-media-driven political environment, and whether he leverages his platform toward another campaign, are among the open questions of his ongoing tenure.