New York City Mayor Eric Adams’s (D) relationship with President Trump is alarming Democrats, who question the embattled mayor’s motives amid his ongoing legal challenges.

Adams sat down with Trump for a meeting days before the president was sworn in and caught attention for a last-minute change of his schedule to attend Trump’s inauguration on Monday. Adams has argued the importance of having a relationship with Trump as mayor of the country’s largest city for the benefit of his constituents.

But this also comes as Adams, who is up for reelection in November, faces the start of a bribery trial amid speculation that Trump could pardon him.

“With the mayor, his legal case sort of hangs over everything that he’s doing, whether fair or unfair,” said Democratic strategist Chris Coffey, who co-managed Andrew Yang’s 2021 mayoral campaign.

Adams has faced questions for months about whether he would seek a pardon. Trump stirred speculation last month when he said he would consider pardoning Adams, arguing that he has been “treated pretty unfairly.”