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Miami Mayor Francis Suarez has gifted keys to the city to many interesting characters, from UFC CEO Dana White to right-wing YouTube pranksters the Nelk Boys. But Wednesday afternoon inside the Kaseya Center at the America Business Forum, Suarez reserved his shiniest golden key for a man he has dubbed the “peacemaker-in-chief”: President Donald Trump.
Toward the end of Trump’s remarks about the economy, Suarez joined him on stage with a black velvet box in hand.
“Your leadership and your vision have shaped not only our nation, but also the future of our city,” Suarez says from behind the podium. He describes Miami’s success as rooted in American values like “opportunity, freedom, safety, and innovation,” values that Trump has “championed with conviction.”
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After more fawning admiration, Suarez asks Trump, “You like real estate, right?” Trump nods. “This is a key that opens some really nice presidential library real estate,” Suarez says. The president and mayor then smile for the cameras.
Trump is among a roster of high-profile speakers at the forum, including figures like Venezuelan opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner María Corina Machado, soccer legend Lionel Messi, and motivational guru Tony Robbins. Prior to receiving the key to the Magic City, Trump boasted about his economic policy, calling this the “golden age” of America, describing the United States’ economy as the “hottest” in the world, and bragging about lowering the cost of eggs.
The president also remarked on New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani’s Tuesday victory.
“Now the Democrats are so extreme that Miami will soon be the refuge for those fleeing communism in New York City. They flee,” he said.
Though Suarez suggested the key would unlock Trump’s future presidential library in downtown Miami, that project is on hold, according to Politico. In mid-October, Circuit Judge Mavel Ruiz temporarily blocked the land transfer from Miami Dade College to a Trump family foundation after Black historian Marvin Dunn sued, arguing that college officials violated Florida’s open-government law by quietly handing the property to the state. On Monday, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier’s office filed a notice of appeal seeking to overturn the ruling.
