Miami Mayor, Francis Suarez on Thursday, June 15, 2023, announced his bid for the Republican presidential nomination.
The 45-year-old mayor, the only Hispanic candidate in the race, has declared his candidacy in paperwork with the Federal Election Commission. He had previously hinted an announcement, noting that he would be making a “big speech” on Thursday at the Reagan Library in California.
Announcing his ambition on a morning show, Suarez repeatedly tried to evade giving answers to queries about former President Donald Trump’s behavior and the charges in his indictment, claiming he did not know “all the details about how he handled classified information.”
When reminded that he was running against Trump, Suarez remarked cleverly that he is against the current condition in America.
“You see, that’s where you’re wrong. I’m running to be the president of the United States, and I’m running against Joe Biden’s America — an America where the poor get poorer, an America where America gets weaker, an America where if things don’t change China will be the lone superpower. That’s what I’m running for.”
Francis Suarez
Suarez is vying to become the first sitting mayor elected President. He joins a Republican primary contest that includes Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, former Vice President Mike Pence, Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley and former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie.
Despite having a candidate field in the double digits, the contest is greatly regarded as a two-person race between Trump and DeSantis.
However, Trump’s numerous legal weaknesses, none more significant than his federal indictment on allegations of mishandling classified information and refusing to hand them back, have given the other contenders hope for an opportunity. In Miami federal court on Tuesday, he entered a not guilty plea to 37 felony counts.
Suarez, the President of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, is the son of Miami’s first Cuban-born mayor. He has gained national attention in recent years for his efforts to lure companies to Miami, with an eye toward turning the city into a crypto hub and the next Silicon Valley.
More Moderate Than DeSantis And Trump
Suarez is more moderate than DeSantis and Trump but has navigated carefully on cultural issues that have become popular among Republican politicians.
Suarez has stated that he did not support Trump in the 2016 or 2020 presidential elections. Instead, he wrote the names of U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio and then-Vice President Pence. In 2018, Suarez publicly condemned Trump after reports came out that he had questioned why the United States would accept more immigrants from Haiti and Africa, which Trump described using a vulgar epithet.
Nonetheless, times have changed, with Trump advisers now praising Suarez’s work and helping him promote what he calls “the Miami success story.” Trump’s former White House counselor, Kellyanne Conway has even floated Suarez’s name as a possible Vice Presidential pick.
Suarez, married with two young children, is a corporate and real estate attorney who previously served as a city of Miami commissioner. He has also positioned himself as someone who can help the party further connect with Hispanics. In recent months, he has made visits to early GOP voting states as he weighed a possible 2024 campaign.
