aAs the US presidential election approaches, billionaire Mark Cuban has emerged as Kamala Harris’ energetic campaign surrogate. In advocating for business leaders to support Democrats over Donald Trump, Cuban draws on his experience in technology, investing, health care, and now sports as a minority owner of the Dallas Mavericks, an NBA team; He takes advantage of his celebrity (his experience as the leading “shark”). (over 15 seasons of ABC’s Shark Tank) and their willingness to take on billionaires who support Trump, among whom Elon Musk stood out.
The road was not smooth. Cuban clashed with progressives in Congress last week after criticizing Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan over her work on antitrust laws in the tech sector. For this and other issues, including Cuba’s thoughts on President Trump’s tariff push and the eternal question of whether Cuba harbors the president’s own ambitions, here are 10 questions raised by Guardian reporters and editors. Email responses to questions are addressed below.
Why did you start speaking out in support of Kamala Harris? Will you work with a campaign or set your own course?
I think she will be a much better president than her opponent. Then make your own schedule. We’re talking about preparing some things closer to the election (on Thursday, Cuban appeared with Harris at a rally in Wisconsin).
Can Ms. Harris appeal to white working-class voters? If so, how?
I think her charm is the same for everyone. She is ethical, not an ideologue, open-minded and analytical, and wants to solve problems no matter where they come from. She said she would appoint Republicans to her cabinet.
She understands technology and its importance to national security much better than her counterpart. When Donald Trump talks about AI (artificial intelligence), he only speaks in terms of how much power it uses. Kamara understands the strategic, economic and defensive opportunities it presents.
I have worked with her team to significantly reduce drug costs, and this is just the beginning of reducing her healthcare costs.
Why are men such a problem for the Harris campaign? How do you appeal to them?
I think we live in a meme world. Donald Trump does a great job of speaking in sound bites, not substance. Soundbites are more meme-friendly. I also believe that social media algorithms strengthen these memes, which benefits men for President Trump.
You’ve known and dealt with Trump for some time. Do you think he deteriorated with age, as critics charge? If so, how?
yes. His speeches are longer and more rambling. The number of non-equities continues to increase. He was trying to answer the question directly. I don’t think he’s even trying or able to do it anymore.
What does a second Trump presidency mean for the United States, and why are business leaders choosing Harris over Trump?
Stability is key for large companies. They don’t want to wake up to tweets and new tariffs that affect their business just because Donald got mad at someone.
I think tariffs are also a big issue for businesses of all sizes. 10%, 20%, 60% and 200% are paid by the importer and passed on to the customer.
President Trump uses tariffs as a threat against American companies, even when they help foreign competitors. A 200% tariff on John Deere would make foreign competitors cheaper, even after imposing 10% or 20% tariffs on their own products (President Trump said the company would move some of its production to Mexico). He threatened to impose customs duties if the country was moved). That’s insane.
A huge number of small entrepreneurs import their products. But tariffs could literally put small retailers and manufacturers out of business.
Small businesses do not have the same price elasticity as large businesses. Incremental and administrative costs associated with customs duties cannot be passed on.
President Trump doesn’t understand how he can put small retailers and manufacturers out of business. 75% of manufacturers have fewer than 20 employees. Tariffs on inputs to manufactured products can force companies out of business.
Under Kamala, small and medium-sized enterprises will benefit greatly. Over 97% of small businesses are Sub S or LLCs, meaning they are taxed at personal tax rates. For all of these entrepreneurs, if their income is $400,000 or less (or over 95%), their taxes won’t go up, they’ll probably go down.
Mr Camara also proposes allowing start-up costs to be expensed up to $50,000 (10x), and a childcare tax credit that would allow parents to get the help they need to keep their businesses afloat. There is also a newborn tax credit.
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Many other successful businessmen have also supported Trump, including Elon Musk and Peter Thiel. What is his charm? Why do you think they are wrong?
We can only guess. I think they believe they can manipulate him.
Harris has talked about how her business policies differ from Biden’s, and will she be able to reconcile her pro-big business stance with her opposition to price gouging?
No wonder she didn’t want to throw her current boss under the bus. But the difference is clear. On corporate profits and capital gains, he received 28% of the vote, far lower than Mr. Biden had hoped. She doesn’t want taxes on unrealized capital gains. I think she’s indicated that she’s going to be tougher on borders.
Why do you think President Harris, or perhaps a second-term President Trump, should remove Lina Khan as FTC Chair because of her stance on antitrust issues? Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on this issue Are you ready for his promised “brawl” with progressives?
I need to rephrase what I said before (last Tuesday to Semaphore: “If it were me, I wouldn’t keep Khan back” and “In the big picture, she’s hurting more than she’s helping. That’s what I mean.”) I expressed my opinion. That said, I think Lina has done great work with PBMs (pharmacy benefit managers) and fraud companies and things like that, but I’m prioritizing AI because it’s important to our economy, and I’m working with some of our biggest companies. We don’t think AI companies should do that. Disband. That said, I am not asking for or suggesting that she be fired.
You said you would have supported pro-business Republicans like Mitt Romney and Jeff Flake if they had run for president. Will such a Republican ever be nominated again? What do you say to Republicans like Romney and Larry Hogan who don’t support Trump but won’t vote for Harris?
I think they will vote for her. They just don’t want to say it and don’t want to deal with the backlash. And my comment about Jeff and Mitt was whether or not Biden is the candidate. I would vote for Kamala over either.
The importance of having Kamara under center cannot be overstated. I think she will do a great job representing all Americans, not just Democrats and Republicans. I think about her uplifting approach to campaigning. Not only did she try to stay positive, but she didn’t criticize anyone other than Trump and J.D. Vance.
That’s important. Not a negative word about their supporters. Just an attitude of trying to bring people together. Compare that to Trump’s hateful rhetoric. So saying he hates Taylor Swift just because she didn’t support her is symbolic of who he is and how different he and Kamala are.
Have you ever been tempted to run yourself as a pro-business Republican like Romney or on any other platform? Not yet?
Approximately 8 hours. Then I woke up. 🙂
