Nothing gets between this rising-star politician and a big-bucks fundraiser — not even a deadly hurricane.
While the remaining of Florida was bracing to be ravaged by Hurricane Ian and his own city was on tornado and flood watch, Miami Mayor Francis Suarez was 1,200 miles away — attending a pair of Recent York City political fundraisers in his honor, The Post has learned.
Suarez, 44, made an appearance at an hour-long lunch held on the exclusive Casa Cipriani, a personal members club and hotel in Lower Manhattan, based on a source who attended the event.
The Republican also lapped up a second fundraiser at Le Bilboquet, the luxury Upper East Side French restaurant, the source added.
The Big Apple fundraisers, which were held for Suarez’s Agenda for America PAC, took place around the identical time the mayor fired off a tweet warning his own residents to “stay informed & stay secure” because the Category 4 hurricane barreled towards the Sunshine State.
Suarez gave no indication on social media that he was far-off from all of it, within the Big Apple.
It wasn’t immediately clear when Suarez touched down in Recent York, but a source said he stayed on the five-star Lowes Regency hotel near Central Park.
A source said Suarez was still in town Thursday morning, but his political rep wouldn’t confirm the mayor’s whereabouts when reached by The Post. Suarez’s office also didn’t immediately reply to The Post’s request for comment.
His Casa Cipriani fundraiser had called for suggested donations of between $2,500 and $10,000, based on a flyer for the event obtained by The Post.
About 40 people attended that fundraiser, including “real estate guys, developers — plenty of different individuals who went to support him,” a source said.
The event was hosted by Casa owners Michael and Joe Cayre, in addition to Anthony Carone — the brother of Frank Carone, who’s Mayor Eric Adams’ chief of staff and who’s departing at the top of the 12 months.
There was no sighting of Adams, or some other elected officials, on the events, sources said.
At the same time as Suarez was rubbing shoulders with political donors, he was still firing off tweets about how he and city officials were monitoring the consequences of the hurricane, which eventually made landfall near Fort Myers, 150 miles northwest of Miami, on Wednesday afternoon.
While Miami wasn’t forecast to be directly hit by the attention of the storm, Suarez warned at a Tuesday briefing and in subsequent tweets that his city was still bracing for severe weather.
“Within the last 24 hours, the @CityofMiami received 2.8 inches of rain & is predicted to rise up to six inches throughout today & tomorrow. We must always expect considerable rainfall. Straight away we’re under a tornado watch & flood warning until tomorrow,” Suarez tweeted Wednesday.
“Please stay informed & stay secure,” he added.
Suarez’s Instagram feed was also stuffed with several images of fallen trees and areas of Miami that had already flooded, in addition to footage of hurricane briefings.
Several Instagram Stories posted Thursday detail how Miami search-and-rescue crews had been dispatched to assist provide aid in hard-hit Marco Island within the Gulf of Mexico.
The mayor’s name has been kicked around of late as considered one of the highest Republican contenders to observe for within the 2024 and 2028 presidential races.
His political advisers created his Agenda for America PAC back in January and began running digital Facebook ads in early primary election states, including Iowa and Recent Hampshire, with GOP messaging targeting “Bidenflation,” crime and immigration.
Suarez, who has publicly criticized each former President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, has been Miami’s mayor since 2017.
Additional reporting by Selim Algar