And the long list of Republican
presidential candidates gained
its first mayor this week.
Miami mayor Francis Suarez says
he can usher in a new era for
the GOP and the country.
>> Run for president of the
United States of America.
Amna: A third Florida man in the
race, Miami mayor Francis Suarez
kicking off his bid for the
white house, the only mayor in
the growing GOP field.
>> I believe America is still a
shining city on a hill whose
eyes of the world are upon us,
and whose promise needs to be
restored.
And I believe the city needs
more than a shouter or a fighter
.
I believe it needs a servant.
It needs a mayor.
Amna: Suarez is in the spotlight
for the second time this week
after helping coordinate
security around the arraignment
of his now-opponent, Donald
Trump.
>> In our city, a we obviously
, believe in the constitution
and believe that people should
have the right to express
themselves.
But we also believe in law and
order.
Amna: The Cuban American
followed his father's footsteps
into politics.
Xavier Suarez served as the
city's mayor in the 1980s and
1990s.
Francis Suarez was first elected
in 2017 with more than 80
percent of the vote.
It's a part-time, largely
ceremonial position, but Suarez
pushed an economic agenda with
an eye towards cryptocurrency
and tech.
>> In Miami, we've already shown
that our city is willing to lead
into this new opportunity of
crypto.
Amna: The 45-year-old stands out
in the GOP field with more
centrist positions on
immigration and climate change
which he believes is a major
threat.
>> It's not theoretical for us
in the city of Miami.
It's real.
We deal with it day in, day out,
year after year.
Amna: Over his two terms, Suarez
has at times sparred with
Florida governor Ron Desantis,
now his GOP rival, even
criticizing the governor's fight
with Disney.
>> He took an issue that was a
winning issue that we all agreed
on, which was parental rights
for K through third-graders, and
it looks like now it's something
that spite or maybe potentially
a personal vendetta, which has
cost the state now potentially
2,000 jobs in a billion-dollar
investment.
Amna: But Suarez is also
fighting his own battles.
Last month, the Miami herald
reported he was paid thousands
of dollars by a real estate
developer in the city, money now
under investigation as possible
bribes.
Suarez denies the allegation.
And the Miami mayor now
campaigns against two men who he
did not vote for in previous
elections -- the former
president, and Florida governor
-- though he's said he will back
the eventual 2024 Republican
nominee.
Here to talk about the launch of
his campaign, is mayor Francis
Suarez.
Welcome to the newshour.
>> Thank you for having me.
Amna: As we just heard, you did
not vote for president trump and
we know he currently leads in
early polls among GOP
candidates.
Republican voters do like him.
Why should those same voters
back you if you did not back
him?
>> I think the voters have a
choice.
They can decide to redo the 2020
election, that's a choice they
have, or they can decide to
choose something else.
I think among the available
candidate they have, I would
rather be unknown and exciting
than known and unexciting.
Amna: You've said specifically
you are running because you have
a different message.
In terms of messages and how
they land, how is your message
different from Mr. Trump's?
>> My messages different from
all the candidates.
I did not come from Washington,
I have executive leadership at
the mayoral level, closest to
the people.
I have cut taxes.
I have balanced a budget.
I have created tremendous
prosperity, we are number one
wage growth, have the lowest
unemployment in America.
I've created that dynamism
because I'm at the moment in our
city.
Amna: I have to ask, because we
are speaking after the front
runner in your party was just
arraigned on federal charges.
You said you haven't ruled out
pardoning Mr. Trump if you were
to win.
I want to be clear, if he's
found guilty of obstructing
justice, you would deem those
pardonable crimes?
>> I would not rule out a pardon
for either party if it can heal
the nation.
Number two, the issue at stake
in the trump case is whether he
willfully retained national
security documents.
It is clear that the current
president, former vice
president, retained documents --
amna: But you know those are
very different circumstances,
that has been made clear.
>> They are not different
circumstances.
Amna: All due respect, they are
very different.
The question is whether Mr.
Trump obstructed justice.
>> You can have your perspective
and I have my perspective.
Amna: These are not
perspectives, they are facts.
>> He will be judged by a jury
of his peers.
I personally would not have
retained documents.
Most Americans find it strange
that any public official,
whether they are current
president, former vice
president, current secretary of
state, vice president under
president trump or the
president, they don't understand
why anybody would retain
documents of national security
importance, willful or on
willful.
That is bewildering I think the
American public.
But everybody in this country
has a constitutional right,
despite what the press would
like to see and debate
constantly, they have a
constitutional right to trial by
jury.
When the process concludes, we
will know if he did some thing
wrong or not.
You cannot convict someone by
indictment.
If I am the president of united
States and he or anyone else
commits a crime that I feel
pardoning that person would heal
the country, bring the country
together, unify the country, I
would consider it.
I would be negligent not to be
at amna: You've spoken on
immigration quite a bit.
Specifically DACA
recipients.
You know there is a court ruling
pending that could deem the
program illegal and throw many
young adults's lives into
disarray.
In 2020 you signed a little from
the U.S. Conference of mayors
urging then president trump not
to end DACA.
As president, would you grant
those dreamers a path to
citizenship?
>> It's been a product of
multiple different
ministrations, both Republican
and Democrat, and we have to
solve this crisis.
First of all, we have a problem
at the border, we have six or 7
million people that have entered
illegally into the country just
in the last couple of years.
That is creating chaos in
American cities.
We have China spending $1
trillion of our money,
subverting us in our own
hemisphere, putting her
immigration pressure on our
country, and we have an
incoherent system for legal
immigration that is not indexed
to things like unemployment or
the fact we have a declining
birthrate.
That's the kind of conversation
we need to have, and we also
need to include DACA recipients
and those who are undocumented
in the conversation to determine
what kind of status they should
receive.
As a hispanic Republican
president, I think I would be in
a strong position to be able to
solve this issue once and for
all.
Amna: How would you do that with
respect to the dreamers?
Would you grant them a path to
citizenship?
>> I think we have to do is
convince both parties that that
particular class of immigrant is
one that should be a citizen.
I think part of it is, as a
hispanic Republican potential
president, and as a president,
you will have the ability to
hopefully convince Republicans
they should not be afraid of
legalizing certain immigrants
who will be productive members
of society, like my parents when
they came to this country.
Amna: You've made very clear who
you are and what you believe,
but I wonder how your experience
in what is a part-time job, what
people describe as mostly
ceremonial, as the mayor of
Miami, how does that translate
to the demands of the
presidency?
>> I think that's a fair
question, obviously, but the
courage it takes to make tough
choices does not depend on the
number of zeros in your budget
or the number of people you
manage.
It depends on your track record
of decision-making, and my trek
racking -- track record has to
mistreated I'm not afraid to
make tough choices.
Those kind of decisions, the
decisions that need to be made
to bring our country back to
prosperity, are not dependent on
the job you have today, they are
dependent on the ability you
brought to the job.
Amna: As the mayor of Miami,
thank you for your time.
Please join us again.
>> For sure.
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