(MIAMI, FLA) — Miami Mayor Francis Suarez is touting the Magic City’s recipe for economic success and growth, while also teasing his exploration of a potential 2024 run for U.S. president.
“Look, it’s a long way away,” Suarez admitted to FOX Business’ Maria Bartiromo. “Right now, I’m excited to preside over the presidency of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, and try to convince other mayors across America that the Miami model works, that they need to adopt it so that they can create prosperity in their cities.”
“If that continues to work, and if Miami continues to be successful,” the mayor added, “then I think there’s going to be tremendous amount of options available for me politically if I decide that I want to continue to serve.”
Responding to whether or not the Republican mayor is running for President, Suarez explained he’s currently focused on delivering “due diligence” as Miami’s mayor.
“We’re doing our due diligence and, of course, doing what I have to do as mayor to try to continue to highlight the things that are happening in Miami,” Suarez noted, “which we think, again, should be a model for the rest of the country.”
“When you compare the Miami miracle to the Washington nightmare, you see a situation where in Washington, inflation is rampant, everyday goods are more expensive because of deficit spending,” Suarez said. “In Miami, we balance our budget. We actually have $145 million surplus, the most in our history. We keep taxes low while Washington keeps increasing taxes.”
The city is also preparing to end this year with the lowest homicide rate Miami’s seen since 1930, making it “one of the safest big cities in America,” Suarez argued.
“Miami was voted the happiest city in America and the healthiest city in America. So it turns out if people are healthy, if people are happy, if they’re paying low taxes, if they’re working, they’re not going to be committing homicide,” Suarez said. “So it’s a very easy recipe for success. It can be scaled to the rest of the country, but it takes political courage.”
Mayor Suarez says his success in Miami is attracting a lot of new residents from Democrat-run states like New York and California. He says he’s not worried that may bring their liberal politics and votes to one of the state’s largest districts.
By the way, Mayor Francis Suarez has an estimated net worth of $5 million and believes in Bitcoin. In fact he has allowed city workers, even himself, to take the equivalent of their paychecks in Bitcoin
Suarez’s belief in Bitcoin isn’t the only tidbit when it comes to his political journey. He’s also the first mayor of Miami who’s an actual native of the city.