Francis Suarez, asked about China in 2024 campaign interview: ‘What’s a Uyghur?’

MIAMI – Miami Mayor Francis Suarez’s campaign interview with a conservative talk radio host hit a speedbump Tuesday when the 2024 Republican presidential candidate was asked about China and its government’s treatment of a minority group the program’s host later characterized as “ongoing genocide.”

Suarez appeared on Hugh Hewitt’s talk show Tuesday morning. Hewitt, in a discussion about China, asked whether the mayor would be talking about the Uyghurs — a mostly-Muslim ethnic group that lives in the northwestern part of the country. China has been accused of committing human rights abuses against the group.

But the foreign policy question stumped Suarez:

Hewitt: Penultimate question, mayor. Will you be talking about the Uyghurs in your campaign?

Suarez: The what?

Hewitt: The Uyghurs.

Suarez: What’s a Uyghur?

Hewitt: OK, we’ll come back to that. Let me, you won’t be, you’ve got to get smart on that.

Suarez: OK.

The mayor brought up the topic again at the end of the program, appearing to not know what the host was referring to.

“And you gave me homework, Hugh. I’ll look at what a, what was it, what did you call it, a Weeble?” Suarez asked.

Hewitt responded: “The Uyghurs. You really need to know about the Uyghurs, mayor. You’ve got to talk about it every day, OK?”

“I will talk about, I will search Uyghurs,” Suarez said. “I’m a good learner. I’m a fast learner.”

Hewitt later weighed in on Suarez’s gaffe.

“Mayor @FrancisSuarez was pretty good for a first conversation on air about national security --except for the huge blind spot on the Uyghurs,” he tweeted. “‘What’s a Uyghur?’ is not where I expect people running for president to say when asked about the ongoing genocide in China.”

After numerous state and national outlets began to cover the flub, Suarez later offered up an explanation in a tweet of his own.

“Of course, I am well aware of the suffering of the Uyghurs in China,” he said in part. “They are being enslaved because of their faith.”

He added: “I didn’t recognize the pronunciation my friend Hugh Hewitt used. That’s on me.”

Suarez entered the presidential race last month, aiming to be the first sitting mayor elected to the White House.