TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is pushing to establish President Donald Trump’s presidential library in an iconic stretch of downtown Miami.
Paving the way for the president’s post-administration historical archives is another way DeSantis and conservative lawmakers are vying to demonstrate their loyalty to Trump, who has shifted the center of his political universe south to his adopted home state of Florida.
“No state has better delivered the President’s agenda than the Free State of Florida, and we would be honored to house his presidential library here in his home state,” DeSantis said in a statement announcing the plan Tuesday.
The proposal sets aside a prime 2.63-acre (1.06-hectare) parcel of land adjacent to the Freedom Tower, a historic building that rises alongside the glitzy condos facing palm tree-lined Biscayne Bay. The Spanish Revival skyscraper once housed one of the city’s first newspapers. It later served as a resource center for hundreds of thousands of Cubans seeking asylum in the United States, according to Miami Dade College, which now operates the site as a museum. It’s considered a symbol of the city’s vibrant immigrant heritage and a refuge for those fleeing communism.
The landmark tower has also been a site of recent protests against the president and his crackdown on migrants. Cuban Americans, who dominate politics in Miami, voted overwhelmingly for Trump in the last presidential election. But the president’s mass deportation agenda is increasingly viewed as a betrayal and has left many second-guessing that support.
In a video posted to social media, state Attorney General James Uthmeier touted the location as ideal for honoring what he described as the “greatest political comeback story in history.”
“You better believe I’m voting yes,” Uthmeier said of the proposal slated to come before the Florida Cabinet on Sept. 30.
The block directly south of the tower is owned by Miami Dade College and currently used as a parking lot, Miami-Dade County records show. Facing Biscayne Boulevard and adjacent to the basketball arena that’s home to the Miami Heat, the site is prime real estate, with the county property appraiser valuing the parcels at more than $66 million.
Earlier this year, DeSantis signed a bill advanced by the Republican-controlled Legislature to preempt local governments from blocking development of a presidential library, an effort to stave off any potential opposition from liberal-leaning counties or municipalities.
___ Kate Payne is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.
