Mayor Eric Adams bolted to Washington, DC, in the middle of the night after he scored a last-minute invite to Donald Trump’s inauguration Monday – sparking condemnation from some black leaders and lefty pols.

Hizzoner bailed on scheduled MLK Day events in the Big Apple after embarking on his hasty trek to the nation’s capital, which entailed a 3 a.m. drive shortly after snow blanketed the Northeast, City Hall officials said. 

The 11th-hour change of plans was a matter of putting New York City above partisan politics, Adams and his team argued.

“In the early hours of Monday morning, the Trump administration reached out inviting Mayor Adams to attend the inauguration at the incoming administration’s request,” Deputy Mayor of Communication Fabien Levy said. 

“Mayor Adams accepted on behalf of New York City,” Levy said in a statement.

“As the mayor has repeatedly said, America has chosen a new national leader and we must work together to build a safer, stronger, and more affordable in (sic) New York City.”

The mayor, a Democrat, had been coy for weeks as to whether he would attend the inauguration, as some in Adams’ team pushed for a pardon from the Republican incoming president to avoid a historic criminal trial come April.

The invite came just days after Adams — who faces a crowded field of challengers in the June Democratic mayoral primary — traveled to Florida for a sit-down with Trump, where Hizzoner claimed his legal case was not discussed.

Adams was relegated to an overflow room, outside the US Capitol Rotunda, where Trump made his inaugural address and Empire State political luminaries such as Hillary Clinton, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and former Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer rubbed elbows.

Adams instead showed face for New York City by hobnobbing with crypto billionaire and “The Mighty Ducks” star Brock Pierce and social media personalities Jake and Logan Paul. 

“Can you imagine Mike Bloomberg, Rudy Guliani or Ed Koch driving down to Washington, DC, in the middle of the night to attend an inauguration — and being relegated to a space reserved for C-list groupies?” one longtime New York Democrat scoffed. “This is the kind of stuff only [former Mayor Bill] de Blasio would do, but worse!”

Adams also posed for a photo with cowboy hat-wearing Charles W. Herbster, former chairman of Trump’s 2020 agriculture and rural advisory committee and failed Nebraska gubernatorial candidate accused of groping eight women.

Herbster appeared to have a front-row seat, according to photos from the overflow room, which showed Adams more than a dozen rows back with MMA star Conor McGregor, who was eight seats to his left.

As the inauguration began, Adams huddled next to the Rev. Mark Burns, a televangelist, failed GOP congressional candidate and self-professed “close friend” of Trump. 

Photos show Adams sitting with Burns on the end of the aisle, with the mayor’s security detail five rows behind him. 

Burns, who also drew headlines for calling for the arrest and execution of people who support LGBTQ+ rights, wrote on X that he was happy to “host” Adams.

“Bringing Americans TOGETHER for an America First Agenda,” he wrote.

Trump did grace the overflow room after his swearing-in. Photos show him giving remarks to the crowd, and Adams standing far in the back.

The mayor’s Trump-aligned pals at the inauguration were a stark contrast to the crowd inside Convent Avenue Baptist Church in Harlem, where Adams had been scheduled to attend an MLK Day event.

Many attendees at the Harlem event – which was attended by prominent city elected officials such as Comptroller Brad Lander, a mayoral candidate, and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg – were surprised to learn Adams wouldn’t be attending. 

Another mayoral challenger who attended the service,  the Rev. Michael Blake — a former assemblyman and Obama aide – didn’t mince words.

“He’s making it very clear to black and brown New Yorkers across New York City —- all that he cares about is staying out of jail,” Blake told The Post.

“Eric Adams making a decision to go down to celebrate him over celebrating (Martin Luther) King, shows what he thinks. Eric Adams thinks Trump is King.” 

Not to be outdone, other Democratic mayoral challengers lambasted the mayor’s trip as a clear ploy to get in Trump’s good graces and perhaps score a pardon.

“Imagine if Mayor Adams applied the same focus to making our city safer and bringing down our cost of living as he does to getting himself a pardon,” Lander wrote on X.

“It’s one thing to maintain a professional relationship with the federal government, it’s another to drag yourself to DC at 3:00 in the morning to celebrate a bigot,” said state Sen. Jessica Ramos.

“The Mayor stands trial on federal corruption charges in three months, so it’s difficult to view anything he does in relation to Donald Trump outside of that fact,” said state Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani.

The Rev. Al Sharpton, during an appearance on MSNBC, said Adams’ invite clearly “has political overtones,” given the chatter about the mayor seeking a pardon, as well as his growing closeness to Trump.

“To say you’re not going to raise your eyebrows would be being dishonest,” Sharpton said. “I think that this will cause a lot of us to say, ‘What’s this all about?’”

Adams’ rush to attend the inauguration was also coupled with shifting narratives from City Hall officials, who first told reporters the incoming president himself had called the mayor to invite him.

They later said it was Trump’s staff who extended the invitation after he found out the mayor wasn’t attending. Finally, officials said Steve Witkoff, Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East, made the late-night call to City Hall extending the invite.

Other Democratic New York pols opted to skip the inauguration.

Gov. Kathy Hochul, while making an exit from the Harlem event, didn’t pass judgment on Adams.

“Every elected official can make their own decision,” she told a Politico reporter, before adding, “I’m glad I’m here today in Harlem.”

Firebrand Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, for her part, said she wouldn’t attend what she called a celebration of “rapists.”

Hazel Dukes, longtime state chairman of the NAACP, did not fault Adams for going to the Trump inaugural, but said she would not go if she were invited.

“Adams doesn’t just represent the black community. He’s the mayor,” she said.

“Would I have gone? No, no, no,” she pointedly added. “I wouldn’t look at Trump. He’s doing nothing to bring us together.”

Adams, in a tweet, not-so-subtly seemed to defend himself from criticism over skipping MLK events.

“Inauguration Day is a sacred American tradition,” he wrote. “Our country has been through so much, and every president has the honor and responsibility to protect and lead the American people.

“On MLK Day, like Reverend Dr. King said, we must put partisan politics aside to do what’s best for.”

Black voters were a key voter bloc that helped propel Adams into Gracie Mansion during the 2021 election – and pollsters believe he can’t win again this year without them.

Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who is rumored to be eyeing a run for mayor, has arguably been trying to eat into that base by speaking at black churches. Adams’ longtime pal the Rev. Al Cockfield facilitated some of Cuomo’s speeches.

NYPD Chief of Department John Chell was in Washington to “assist with security efforts” for the inauguration, police officials said.

Photos showed Adams and his cop ally Chell — who drew criticism for his sparring with lefty pols and appearances on Trump-aligned media in full uniform — standing together in the overflow room. 

City Hall insisted that Adams attended the inauguration alone, and the NYPD’s press office asserted that Chell wasn’t there in a personal capacity.

One social media post dug up by The Post captured Chell snapping a pic of the event on his phone while standing in the back of the overfill room with Kaz Daughtry, the NYPD’s deputy commissioner for operations and another close Adams pal.

Chell spent the weekend before the inauguration dining with GOP reps from New York, sources said.

— Additional reporting by Carl Campanile and Vaughn Golden