The Miami mayor conceded that Mamdani and the ideas he represents hold popular appeal because “socialism is the easiest sell in politics.” But Republicans still hold an advantage if they harness the power of new media, or the podcasts, influencers, and other increasingly powerful forums that pose an alternative to legacy media, to debate ideas, Suarez argued.

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President Donald Trump successfully modeled the power of new media during his 2024 reelection campaign against former Vice President Kamala Harris, reaching voters far and wide by dominating the alternative platforms, the mayor said this week. Republicans would do well to likewise optimize the medium to reach undecided voters and pitch themselves as an alternative to Mamdani and his socialist policies, he suggested. 

“Class warfare is an easy sell in politics,” Suarez told the Washington Examiner. “We’re the government, and we’re just going to take more from the people that are ‘wealthy’ and just give it to you, right?” 

“I think what Trump did, which was unusual in a good way, is that while Kamala Harris was completely scripted and defensive and didn’t want to go to the media, the president was accessible. He went on every single podcast … and he was able to reach people in the millions that other political candidates were not reaching,” the mayor said. 

“I think Republicans have an opportunity, if not an advantage, because I think a lot of these podcasters and New Age media lean Republican, you know, I mean, and you know, even people like Elon [Musk]that were previously probably way back when, left of center at some level, are now firmly right of center,” Suarez added. 

Miami, the city Suarez has overseen since coming to power in 2017, recently captured the country’s attention when Trump chose the area to hold his presidential library. 

Suarez said the move marked “a watershed moment for Miami’s position in the world.” 

“The presidential library is another one of these major cogs in the wheel that demonstrates that Miami is really changing in the way that it’s perceived, from a city that is the capital of Latin America to a truly great global city, and I think that is what we’re witnessing,” the mayor said.

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Suarez spoke of Trump with great admiration, arguing that the president has risen to prominence as an” incredibly underestimated” politician. Trump’s unique trajectory in life has driven “the differences between sort of establishment kinds of politicians that we’ve done in the past, and the kind of president that you’re seeing today,” Suarez said. 

“When you think about one of the hardest ecosystems to succeed in, New York real estate has got to be at the top of the list. Then you think about his success on television, right, and having a successful, highly rated television show so he understands the business of television, how to position things,” the mayor said. “And he’s a billionaire, right? So he doesn’t have the sort of economic pressures that another politician might have.”

“I think that’s a confluence of facts that’s very powerful, that allows him to make decisions that are untethered to like conventional wisdom,” Suarez concluded. 

The Miami mayor is wrapping up his final term in office. But he’s looking ahead to a busy future in the private-public sector, including through the American Business Forum. The initiative is set to launch next month, and is branded as “the leading summit for global leaders in the Americas,” featuring leading  athletes, entrepreneurs, investors, and cultural innovators.

It’s a full-circle moment for Suarez, whose parents fled Fidel Castro’s regime off the coast of Florida to build a new life in the U.S. decades ago. 

“He said, ‘Give us all your businesses, give us all your property, and we’ll make everybody equal.’ And he did. He made everybody equally poor and equally miserable, and equally repressed. And so my parents fled that to come to a country where you could be successful in one generation,” Suarez reflected. 

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Now, at the America Business Forum, the mayor is hailing the power of the American dream and how residents can build a better future in Miami and beyond. 

“We’re going to have voices that are going to talk about, you know, their experience in America, and what this country has done for them, what their career means to them,” he said.