Miami Mayor Francis Suarez has had a change of heart about Donald Trump.
He's now backing the former President's campaign to retake the White House.
In a post to X, Suarez threw his support behind Trump, whom he had openly criticized — and snubbed at the ballot box during the 2020 election — for being too bellicose and divisive.
Over the last few years, Suarez said, Trump has demonstrated himself to be a better leader than President Joe Biden on immigration and the economy.
He indicated that Trump also appears to be in better cognitive shape.
"After seeing both our current President and President Trump at the border, and having been there myself last week, it is evident to me that the only candidate that will keep our country safe, our border secured, reduce inflation and can coherently lead our country forward is President Donald J. Trump," Suarez said.
"I look forward to helping him campaign on his strong record and contrast it with the current administration's. I especially look forward to helping President Trump and the Republican Party win a larger share of Hispanic, young voters and voters across our cities and urban centers."
Past comments Suarez made suggest he believes he'll be able to shore up some of Trump's weaknesses among those voter segments. Last May, ahead of a short-lived presidential bid of his own, Suarez, a Cuban American Republican, told "Face the Nation" that he represents "something different" than the former President.
"I can appeal to a different segment of our country, which is voters under 30 that Biden won by 26 points, people in cities that I won in my city by 86% and was re-elected (by in 2021) by 80%, and Hispanics," he said. "I think it's important to be able to connect with a voting demographic that's growing and that's trending more."
Those comments came after host Margaret Brennan asked Suarez what he thought about Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway floating him as Trump's running mate. Suarez sidestepped that notion and another question about whether Trump — whose legal troubles Suarez called a "slippery slope" — is "divisive" or "a unifier."
Suarez's name has not appeared on Trump's Vice President shortlist.
As Suarez faces increased scrutiny this year over allegations of pay-to-play misconduct at Miami City Hall, his rhetoric about the media and critics has grown more Trump-like. Last month, he lashed out at the Miami Herald after the Florida Ethics Commission dismissed a complaint about him due to a "lack of legal sufficiency."
In an official city statement declaring his vindication, Suarez — who remains the subject of other federal, state and county probes — said the dismissal "exposes the coordinated coup attempt that radical liberal activists, political mercenaries and their allies in the local leftist media have perpetrated in the City of Miami."
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