"What’s a Uyghur?" Suarez said during an interview with Salem News Channel’s Hugh Hewitt, when asked whether he plans to raise the issue of the treatment of Uyghurs as part of his campaign.
When advised by Hewitt to inform himself about the issue, Suarez promised to look into the matter, noting that he is a "fast learner."
Hewitt later responded to Suarez's comments in a tweet after the interview's conclusion, saying Suarez "was pretty good for a first conversation on air about national security--except for the huge blind spot on the Uyghurs."
A spokesman for Suarez later told US media after the interview that he had merely misheard Hewitt, chalking up the gaffe to his own misunderstanding of the word's correct pronunciation.
"I didn’t recognize the pronunciation my friend Hugh Hewitt used. That’s on me," the official went on to explain.
Suarez filed earlier this month as a contender to become the Republican candidate in the 2024 US presidential election. Suarez is the third Florida resident to join the Republican primary, alongside former US President Donald Trump and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.
The Suarez snag calls back a similar hiccup that befell then-Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson, who during the 2016 election cycle was asked during an interview what he would do about Aleppo, a hot-button topic posed to all presidential contenders.
At the time, a stumped Johnson asked, "What is Aleppo?" to a stunned audience. Although Johnson had recovered on the topic, it nonetheless prompted shocked responses.