Sergio Flores/AFP via Getty Images
- Miami Mayor Francis Suarez failed to qualify for the first GOP presidential debate.
- He previously said that candidates who didn't qualify for the debate should drop out.
- "You shouldn't be trying to take the time involved away from being productive," he said.
It's time for Miami Mayor Francis Suarez to suspend his 2024 GOP presidential campaign — if he chooses to follow his own rules.
Suarez did not qualify for the first GOP presidential debate, according to the Republican National Committee.
The debate, set to take place on Wednesday night in Milwaukee, will include eight candidates, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, tech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, Sen. Tim Scott, and others. Former President Donald Trump is skipping the debate.
The Miami Mayor previously said that anyone who fails to qualify for the first debate should drop out of the race.
"I agree that if you can't meet the minimum thresholds, you shouldn't be trying to take the time involved away from being productive," Suarez said at the Iowa State Fair earlier this month.
"I don't think candidates should just sort of linger around... if they don't have a credible path," he later said at the fair.
—Dylan Wells (@dylanewells) August 11, 2023
Nonetheless, Suarez claimed as recently as Monday that he had met the minimum requirements to participate in the debate.
—Mayor Francis Suarez (@FrancisSuarez) August 18, 2023
In an effort to boost his name recognition and fulfill one of the RNC's requirements to make it to the first debate, Suarez's campaign offered $20 gift cards for supporters who donated just $1, just as North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum's campaign did.
Suarez's campaign also raffled off tickets to soccer superstar Lionel Messi's first Major League Soccer game.
The Suarez campaign did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment on whether he would continue his campaign.