Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, who announced his presidential bid in the 2024 race last Thursday, suggested in a recent interview that Governor Ron DeSantis lacks networking skills, which explains his failure to gain support from Florida's Republican House members. Along with former President Donald Trump and DeSantis, Suarez, a Republican who was originally chosen as Miami's mayor in 2017, is now the third Floridian to run for the White House in 2024.
Suarez also questioned DeSantis' political savvy in a race where GOP federal officials in Florida have largely continued to support the former president's reelection in an interview on Friday's episode of "Fox & Friends" on Fox News. DeSantis entered the race for president last month and is widely regarded as the biggest threat to a Trump presidential renomination.
Suarez claimed on the show that the governor "isn't really a relationship man." "From what I gather, he doesn't have a great connection with a lot of our federal elected figures. That's why he lost, I believe, 12 out of 13 [congressional] endorsements in his own state... because he doesn't call people and he doesn't attempt to create a connection," the mayor said.
DeSantis has only received Republican congressional endorsement from Rep. Laurel Lee, a former Florida secretary of state, while Trump has had the backing of 12 out of the 20 House Republicans from Florida, including prominent legislators like Reps. Matt Gaetz and Byron Donalds.
Suarez has not yet garnered a lot of substantial support for his candidacy, but he tried to distinguish himself apart from DeSantis in the interview by saying that he is a "people person," a trait that several current and former politicians have criticized the governor for not possessing.
Suarez remarked in the Fox News interview, "You know, I'm extremely different. I'm reachable, like I mentioned. I make phone calls to individuals. Being social is who I am.
"I love people, you know, and I shake their hands and look them in the eye when I meet them. Therefore, I've never had a problem with it," he continued.
Suarez also questioned DeSantis' political savvy in a race where GOP federal officials in Florida have largely continued to support the former president's reelection in an interview on Friday's episode of "Fox & Friends" on Fox News. DeSantis entered the race for president last month and is widely regarded as the biggest threat to a Trump presidential renomination.
Suarez claimed on the show that the governor "isn't really a relationship man." "From what I gather, he doesn't have a great connection with a lot of our federal elected figures. That's why he lost, I believe, 12 out of 13 [congressional] endorsements in his own state... because he doesn't call people and he doesn't attempt to create a connection," the mayor said.
DeSantis has only received Republican congressional endorsement from Rep. Laurel Lee, a former Florida secretary of state, while Trump has had the backing of 12 out of the 20 House Republicans from Florida, including prominent legislators like Reps. Matt Gaetz and Byron Donalds.
Suarez has not yet garnered a lot of substantial support for his candidacy, but he tried to distinguish himself apart from DeSantis in the interview by saying that he is a "people person," a trait that several current and former politicians have criticized the governor for not possessing.
Suarez remarked in the Fox News interview, "You know, I'm extremely different. I'm reachable, like I mentioned. I make phone calls to individuals. Being social is who I am.
"I love people, you know, and I shake their hands and look them in the eye when I meet them. Therefore, I've never had a problem with it," he continued.
