As Elon Musk ramps up his work on behalf of former President Donald Trump, Vice President Kamala Harris is calling on her billionaire Mark Cuban to reprise the role he played for Hillary Clinton in 2016. she and her husband this week.
Cuban appeared in Wisconsin with Harris on Thursday and is set to hold a town hall in Phoenix on Saturday before heading to Michigan on Sunday to campaign with his running mate, Doug Emhoff.
“This election is a battle for entrepreneurs,” Cuban said Thursday in La Crosse, Wisconsin, before Trump warned about the election. trade and tariff policy it will raise prices, ruin Christmas by making gifts more expensive, and “crush the dreams” of entrepreneurs by making their costs unsustainable.
“Donald Trump is the Grinch who wants to steal your Christmas,” he said. “The Grinch doesn’t understand how tariffs work… The Grinch will put these small businesses out of business.”
“Shark Tank” star Cuban did not respond to a request for comment. He brings business credibility, tech-savvy pop-culture appeal and a charismatic personality that seems especially attractive to young men, who have become one of the most hotly contested demographics in an election where the gender gap has reached historic proportions.
Harris, whose campaign is tying the Cuba tour to connect with male voters, has recently appeared on shows like “All Fog” and “The Breakfast Club” with Charlamagne Tha God. The campaign also ran ads on platforms with a male-leaning audience, e.g IGN gaming site, major sporting events and sports talk radio.
Although Cuba reduced the need for Harris to target menhe can be an integral part of that effort, and he’s already made the case for Harris in a semi-official capacity on podcasts and podcasts. in media interviews.
He was also an emissary in the business world, helping to found a group called Venture Capitalists for KamalaWith nearly 900 signatories, as well Business Leaders for Harris.
Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX and one of the world’s richest men, appears alongside Trump, a billionaire himself, and is now holding a series of “conversations” with voters in Pennsylvania, separate from the campaign.
Unlike the Forgiving Mask It is close to 75 million dollars and counting pro-Trump groups, Cuba is not a political donor. Federal Election Commission records show a $1,000 donation was made in his name to California Rep. Zoe Lofgren in 2002.
But Harris’ allies say her voice and personality are worth more than her money.
For example, a new request Equis Research, which focuses on Latino voters, found that Cuban was the most popular figure tested among Hispanic men under 50, with a net favorability rating 15 percentage points higher than Musk.
Wisconsin Democratic Party Chairman Ben Wikler praised Cuban’s “talents” and said he is credible in reaching voters on business and economic issues. “Many of his fans, including Shark Tank fans and Wisconsin entrepreneurs, know that he means what he says and he means what he means.”
On a recent episode of NBC News’ “The Chuck ToddCast,” Cuban said Trump “will burn anything he touches. He doesn’t care.” “I told Elon, ‘There will come a time when you need something from Donald Trump and he will disappoint you. Guaranteed”.
Cuban, a 6-foot-2 former NBA team owner (he recently sold his majority stake in the Dallas Mavericks but retains a smaller stake in the team), is comfortable and confident on platforms that appeal to men, but other Democrats typically shy away from them. for example, “All-In,” a podcast popular with “anti-woke” Silicon Valley types. final view on comedian Theo Vaughn’s wildly popular podcast, the Cuban dropped f-bombs, joked about disgraced hip-hop mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs, and took a stab at Trump while smiling at the host, a Trump fan who hosted him. a few weeks ago.
“I like the boy. If he was here and we were just talking—, I’d get along very well with him. But this is different from wanting him to be the president of the United States again,” said Kuban Vona. “I think you need someone you can trust. Is Kamala perfect? No. Do I agree with everything he will do or say or do? No. But I trust him.”
But none of this is unfamiliar territory for Cuba, which played a similar role in Clinton’s failed 2016 campaign against Trump.
That year, Democrats were thrilled to watch them mock Cuban and insult the billionaire-turned-television star in a way that Clinton herself would never do in public. He asks if Trump is there he was really a billionaire and said he was unfit for office.
“I made at least twice as much money as him,” Cuban said on Stephen Colbert’s show before running away collection of insult comedy jokes About the size of Trump’s hands, his multiple bankruptcies and his “bright, orange” appearance.
“Donald, the only way you’re worth $10 billion is if I pay you $9.5 billion to wash my balls!” Cuba said as the audience cheered like background actors from the “You Served” movie franchise.
Democrats loved that Cuba was able to get under Trump’s skin. Clinton invited him Sitting in the front row at one of his debates with Trump.
“If that scumbag Mark Cuban of failed Philanthropist fame wants to sit in the front row, maybe I’ll put Jennifer Flowers next to him!” Trump tweeted before the debate the woman who claims to be having an affair With Bill Clinton before the 1992 presidential election.
Prior to the 2016 campaign, Trump and Cuba had a rocky relationship. In 2014 Trump tweeted He said he had more “wealth and athleticism” than Cuba. In another tweet that year He called Cuba “a hole” and said, “Major League Baseball was really smart when they didn’t let Mark Cuban buy a team.”
Cuban toyed with the idea of running for president Trump himself he tweeted in 2017 Cuba is “not smart enough to run for president!” — Although last year, Cuba shelved the idea of running in 2024.
Still, not all Democrats are excited to see their party leaders take a billionaire on the campaign trail.
Cuban has his own agenda, and some on the left question what he might want from a potential Harris White House. “Mark Cuban is a gifted communicator and I can understand why the billionaire reality TV personality is fighting Donald Trump. apply to the campaign. But billionaire tech bros often have a lot in common,” said Jeff Hauser, founder of the Revolving Door Project, a progressive group that focuses on staffing key economic policy positions.
Cuba has called for the removal of the head of the Securities and Exchange Commission over his approach to cryptocurrency regulation, he said. would be interested in work himself.
“The head of the SEC, the head of the SEC, that’s the job I’m going to take,” he said last month when asked by a Fox News host if he would take a job in the Harris administration. He added that “maybe” he would also consider heading the Department of Health and Human Services.
He also called for the resignation of the chairman of the Federal Trade Commission Lina Khandear hard-charging progressive, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D.N.Y., is prompt to announce that she will be there.case from abroad” if “billionaires [who] Harris pushed for Khan’s removal.
“Harris’s paid ads reflect an economy-minded populist, but there is concern that Cuban may instead promote plutocratic goals within the Harris Administration with personal charisma at odds with his ads.”