MIAMI — As he prepares for a possible presidential run in 2024, Miami Mayor Francis Suarez had a quip ready Friday to let his State of the City audience know he may be pursuing a bigger post.
“I just came back from Washington, where I spent four days without seeing the sun,” the 45-year-old Republican told the audience gathered at Miami’s waterfront City Hall for the mayor’s annual address. “There’s only one job in America that would make you want to stay there long term.”
The laugh line set the tone for an address with a national theme as Suarez lays the groundwork for a presidential campaign. Political committees linked to him have already run ads criticizing President Joe Biden in early GOP primary states, and Suarez continues to describe himself as a potential presidential candidate.
“I am considering it,” he said after the speech in Miami’s City Commission chambers. “It’s a very difficult decision, because it involves probably one of the most scrutinizing gauntlets, which is the rigors of a presidential campaign.”
Early in his speech, Suarez borrowed a line made famous by Ronald Reagan in pitching Miami as a success story. “Today Miami stands as a shining city on the hill for those fleeing various forms of oppression,” he said. Pointing to the metropolitan area’s relatively low crime rate, Suarez declared a “Miami Miracle” with national lessons.
“It can be scaled across America,” Suarez said. “To every city and town, and to every police department.”
While the ceremonial leader of Miami, Suarez does not hold administrative powers, with the police department and other agencies reporting up to City Manager Art Noriega.
Suarez gained national attention in 2020 when he became one of the first elected officials in the United States to catch COVID-19, then became a tech-media favorite with a Twitter post that went viral when he wrote, “How can I help?” to someone who suggested moving Silicon Valley to Miami.
He also promoted Miami as the future capital of crypto, before that investment option crashed, taking down FTX, briefly the sponsor of the Miami Heat arena.
Critics say Suarez is equating Miami’s ability to attract the wealthy from New York and San Francisco to providing economic gains for local residents.
“How are we calling it a model when Miami saw record rent spikes last year?” said Adrian Madriz, co-executive director of SMASH, a housing advocacy group in Miami. “I don’t see how you can honestly say Miami is a place for opportunity when it’s being denied to so many people. It’s being given to people who didn’t live here.”
Suarez touched on the prosperity gap in his address, promoting Miami’s efforts to reduce the homeless population by creating more affordable places to live. “Our city,” he said, “is also measured by how we take care of the least, the last, and the lost.”
