Mark Cuban talks up Kamala Harris, says Trump ‘asked daddy for money’

Small-business owners “can make more money” under Kamala Harris, billionaire Mark Cuban said in Phoenix, telling the crowd that Donald Trump isn’t looking out for them and that even Trump’s son Barron likes his “Shark Tank” reality TV show. 

Cuban, who is backing the Harris campaign, came to battleground Arizona on Saturday for a town hall with Black and Latino small-business owners. 

He told the group that he’s in frequent contact with the Harris campaign to pitch economic policy ideas and played up his status as a non-Democrat.

“I’m an independent,” Cuban said. “I’m here to tell you how you can make more money under Kamala Harris than you would under Donald Trump.”

He also told the audience not to worry about the Harris campaign’s proposed tax on unrealized capital gains.

Harris is locked in a tight race with Trump in Arizona, the state where President Joe Biden won by the narrowest margin in the country four years ago. The top issues for Arizona voters are the economy and inflation, polls show, and those issues are part of what’s driving Trump’s narrow lead in the state.

To try and close that gap, the Harris campaign is reaching out to young men of color in the final weeks of the race.

Talking to a crowd made up largely of men at the Ocotillo restaurant in Phoenix, Cuban pitched Harris as someone who is open to listening to the business community and “not an ideologue.” Trump, on the other hand, has no “origin story” and does not understand small business because he was born into a wealthy family, Cuban said. 

“He doesn’t even know what the power of broke means,” Cuban said. “He asked daddy for money.”

Trump followed in his father’s footsteps as a New York City real estate developer and businessman for decades before he ran for president in 2015. 

One attendee asked Cuban about the unrealized capital gains tax. A Biden White House budget proposal included the tax earlier this year and the Harris campaign was said to support the idea. Cuban said he went “ballistic” when he saw it, and that Harris hasn’t talked about it since.

“Some people think that there is going to be an unrealized gains, tax on capital gains. There is not,” Cuban said. “There is no tax on unrealized capital gains.”

Cuban blamed a former staffer for progressive Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., who said that Harris supported the tax.

“Somebody went on CNBC that used to work for Elizabeth Warren and said that’s what they were supporting one time. Let me just tell you, we have not seen that person again. I can’t say any more,” Cuban said.

Cuban’s comments on Saturday mirrored Barack Obama’s speech in Arizona a day earlier, in which the two-term president painted Trump as an elitist and asked a Tucson crowd if they thought Trump had ever changed a tire. 

Cuban, who once considered standing up his own independent run for president against Trump, sharply criticized Trump’s pitch for more tariffs. Cuban said overly broad tariffs would be bad for retailers, especially around the holiday season.

“Donald Trump is the Grinch that’s trying to steal your Christmas,” Cuban said. “There’s strategic tariffs, and then there’s across-the-board tariffs.” 

A Trump spokesperson hit back in a written statement, saying that Harris is trying to “fearmonger and lie about his plan.” 

“Harris has always opposed tariffs because she can’t be trusted to put workers first, but President Trump will re-shore American jobs, keep inflation low, and raise real wages by lowering taxes, cutting regulations, and unshackling American energy,” Republican National Committee spokesperson Anna Kelly said.

Cuban also told several stories about “Shark Tank,” the long-running reality show where Cuban was a “shark” investor. Cuban shared the tale of when fellow “shark” Barbara Corcoran sued Trump in the 1980s and mentioned a time when Cuban visited the Trump White House and spoke with the former president. 

“I’m an American first and I wasn’t happy when he got elected, but they invited me to the White House to talk about health care and some of the things that I’m doing,” Cuban said. “As we were finishing up, he goes, ‘Are you still on that show, ‘Shark Tank’?’ He goes, ‘Barron loves that show.’”

Cuban also took several questions from the group, which focused on inflation, capital gains tax, partisanship and the impact a Harris presidency could make for female minority entrepreneurs. 

Afterward, attendees said they appreciated Cuban’s open approach to talking about the economy and the election. 

“It makes a lot of sense. I think we need more common sense people in this type of situation, where people are concerned about common sense things. There’s a lot of craziness,” said Eduardo Gonzalez Diaz de Leon, the president of 258 Consulting. “Of course, I’m concerned about tariffs. I’m all for strategic tariffs, and I’m all for the USMCA Free Trade Agreement and partnerships, more than just looking for the cheapest ways to make things.”

Eric Limbs, the deputy director of the Maricopa County Democratic Party, said he appreciated Cuban’s willingness to take questions on Saturday. 

“He doesn’t shy away from questions at all,” Limbs said, speaking about the event in his personal capacity. 

Entrepreneur and investor Brad Hart, a fiscally conservative centrist, said he believes it is important to take an “active role” in the political process.  

“I really feel like Mark is somebody who cares about small business. He’s willing to have an open mind. While I don’t believe that the candidate can always change the world, there’s so many headwinds. Sometimes it’s different puppets, same puppet masters no matter who is in charge. I do believe we have to try,” Hart said. “We can’t just continue to go along as it has and expect things to get better. We have to take an active role and, you know, be American citizens.”

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