NBC6’s Jackie Nespral sits down for an exclusive interview with Mayor Francis Suarez
The rumblings have been heard for months – of Miami Mayor Francis Suarez considering a run for the White House.
"The decision day is quickly approaching. As I said, I went from considering it to strongly considering it,” he said in a one-on-one interview with NBC6 anchor Jackie Nespral. “We’re considering it, and you know we are at the final stages."
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Suarez, who established a Super-PAC and has people on the ground in Iowa and other primary states, is expected to speak at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library next week in California - where many believe an announcement could happen.
Still, the mayor has an uphill task to qualify for the debates. He needs to get to 1 percent in three national polls and have 40,000 independent donations.
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“I think it’s important for the Republican Party to set up a criteria for candidates to be on the debate stage,” he said. “If you can’t meet it, you probably shouldn’t be running. But certainly, we feel we can get there, and we feel that we have an incredibly important story to tell being the only Hispanic candidate from both parties, being someone who is a mayor and who is a young Republican.”
While he’s weighing a presidential run, the mayor - who is an attorney and private equity executive - is facing some allegations of taking money from a developer in order to push a project through.
“I do everything according to the law. I think it’s important that my reputation is one that has been unimpeachable for the last 13 years,” he said. “When you start talking about running for higher office, these kinds of things start to happen."
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As for the Miami-Dade State Attorney and Commission on Ethics opening a joint investigation into the matter, Suarez says he welcomes the inquiry.
“That doesn’t concern me. It really is in some ways a preview of what’s to come in terms of the scrutiny you are under,” he said. “You have to accept that scrutiny.”
Suarez, who has been reluctant in the past to release his personal client list, says if he is a Presidential candidate, he would release his tax returns. He also was part of recent discussions by former President Trump’s inner circle as a possible running mate.
“If I run to be the President, it’s because that’s the goal,” he said. “That’s the goal. You never run for a parlay, for a second place.”
