MIAMI – Former Miami Mayor Xavier Suarez viewed with satisfaction as his son, present-day Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, declared his run for the Oval Office environment Thursday night at the Ronald Reagan Library in Southern California.
“It truly is surreal, it really is an out-of-human body practical experience,” stated Xavier Suarez, former Miami Mayor and father of Francis Suarez.
CBS News Miami spoke with Xavier Suarez on his return to Miami International Airport.
“And viewing him there, it could mark a new chapter in American background, the place a person is almost as charismatic as Reagan and truly enjoys men and women,” he stated.
That is exactly where Suarez thinks his son holds a stronghold.
In his speech Thursday evening, Mayor Francis Suarez explained, “It truly is time for a leader who can join with segments of our place that Republicans have traditionally dropped, like younger voters, city voters, and segments we can make gains with, like Hispanics and suburban women.”
However, as he launches his campaign, he faces an ethics investigation alleging that he recognized dollars from builders to construct condos.
“He has an exterior revenue as Mayor of Miami the fork out is not all that terrific. It truly is superior than it utilized to be when I was mayor, which was $5,000 a yr, so he has declared every thing that desires to be declared beneath the law. I’ve been as a result of the Commission on Ethics twice, and both equally instances it was dismissed,” Xavier Suarez stated.
The mayor now enters a crowded subject with 10 other candidates, which include front-runners Donald Trump and Governor Ron DeSantis, both equally from Florida.
“I wouldn’t review Francis to either of them,” Xavier Suarez advised CBS Information Miami.
As an alternative, his father emphasizes Mayor Suarez’s qualifications in litigation, particularly in genuine estate and now tech, as very well as his efforts in assisting the homeless.
“You know, Francis generally showed a ton of promise, but originally more in the sports entire world. He’s a extremely very good athlete, and then he little by little worked his way up to councilman, commissioner, mayor, and then all of a sudden, in the very last pair of years, he is taken off, and he is a nationwide determine,” Xavier Suarez stated.
In his speech, the mayor outlined his father numerous moments as a supply of inspiration.
