President Donald Trump endorsed Cuban-American candidate Emilio González on Sunday for mayor of Miami, where he will face liberal candidate Eileen Higgins on December 9.
“It is my great honor to endorse Emilio T. González to be the next mayor of the beautiful city of Miami, Florida!” the president wrote on TruthSocial. Trump, who plans to build his official presidential library in downtown Miami and has ties to the city, stated that González, born in Havana, “has dedicated his entire life to serving his community” as a “successful businessman, civic leader, former CEO of Miami International Airport, and former City Manager and Chief Administrative Officer of the City of Miami.”
González also served as director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and as deputy secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) under President George W. Bush (2001-2009).
The Miami mayoral election is generally nonpartisan, but in practice, Higgins is affiliated with the Democratic Party, while González is a Republican and has the support of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.
Out of more than 10 candidates, Higgins received 36% of the vote in the November 4th Miami mayoral election, while González garnered 19%, meaning they will face each other in a runoff election on December 9th.
The Miami City Council election, for a city of nearly 500,000 residents, is less significant than the Miami-Dade County mayoral election, which has approximately three million inhabitants and is the largest county in South Florida, according to EFE.
But the elections have drawn the attention of the parties because of Miami’s symbolic importance to Trump, who changed his official residence from New York to Florida, and in November 2014 became the first Republican presidential candidate to win Miami-Dade County since 1988.
The outgoing mayor of Miami is Francis Suarez, a politician of Cuban descent, aligned with the Republican Party and Trump, who spearheaded the construction of the official presidential library in the city center and the city’s bid to host the G20 Summit next year.
“The future of Miami is at stake, and your support sends a powerful message: our city deserves strong and sensible leadership,” wrote González from X, thanking Trump for his message.
