Miami mayor Francis Suarez, in his first sit-down interview in months, defended himself against allegations and investigations into his finances and reflected on his presidential run and what his future holds.
Suarez is under investigation for accepting gifts, like court-side Miami Heat tickets and VIP treatment to the F1 Miami Grand Prix.
He was cleared through an ethics investigation at the county level but a state investigation remains open into that issue.
Federal investigators are also probing into his private business dealings with a local developer.
“We’ve talked about this multiple times, again, this is the same story being recycled over and over again and I have been very clear and candid on this in which I had no influence whatsoever,” Suarez said during the interview at his office inside City Hall Friday. “I provided all of the documentation to whomever wants to see it, that shows that I am not included in any emails, I did not in any way talk to anybody with the administration.”
Suarez also spoke about his 2024presidential run, which was suspended late last month.
“I ran because I had a sincere belief that I could win the race, that I had something unique to offer, I was the only Hispanic candidate, the only mayor,” Suarez said. “Maybe I bit off a little more than I can chew.”
Suarez wasn’t interested in talking about last week’s arrest of Miami Commissioner Alex Diaz de la Portilla on bribery and corruption charges.
“I focus on the things that I can control,” he said.
Suarez also spoke for the first time about his encounter with a reporter for the Miami Herald.
Video shows him knocking a cell phone out of his face when the reporter was questioning him about his financial dealings.
“I am also used to when reporters want to record me, they usually ask me for permission, they say ‘hey can we record you?’ None of that happened,” said Suarez.
Suarez can’t run for mayor in Miami again, as he’ll be termed out in November 2025. But running for governor, he says, is an option.
“That is something I would consider, it’s the third most populous state in the country, 20 million people, $100 billion budget,” he said.
“And I will say this, in running for president, there were people that told me, ‘look, we would really like for you to run for governor before doing that,’ so it is something that I would consider,” he said.
