Miami Mayor Touts Attributes Ahead of Expected '24 Bid

Miami Mayor Francis Suarez in an interview with Politico touted his attributes ahead of an expected 2024 GOP presidential announcement, telling the news outlet he's a "generational, disruptive impact" on the political system.

"I think the race comes down to, on the Republican side, three options: the former president, the governor [DeSantis] and someone else. I think "the someone else" are people, many of them aren't known, [who] have not yet captivated our people," Suarez told Politico.

"As you build the sort of prototypical, potentially captivating candidate, someone who can be generational — not just as a buzzword — but as someone who has proven to have a generational, disruptive impact on their [political] ecosystem, which I have.

"Someone who has a positive vision for the country — and I do think someone that's Hispanic — helps, because you do lean into that possibility of growing the party, by attracting more minorities."

Suarez said his administration has "kept taxes low, we keep people safe, and we lean into innovation.

"So, I reduced taxes to the lowest level in history, while balancing my budget. We had 12 percent growth, the second-most growth in recorded history. With that I got more resources, and that I could focus on keeping people safe. We increase funding for our police department. I've been to inner cities across America. There isn't an inner city that has told me, "We want less police officers."

Suarez said he hasn't decided when he'll announce his candidacy but knows he needs to be in the Aug. 20 debate.

"I do think that time is of the essence, I've never been a procrastinator in my total life nor my political career. This is different because of the gravity of it," he said.

"And frankly, there were some things that I wasn't sure how they were gonna play out, for example, the fact that the current governor of Florida decided to change the law so that he didn't have to resign to run.

"That's part of it. And the other part of it is, you know, his shaky performance over the last few weeks … has been motivating, for sure," he added.