On his list of must-have qualities in a president, Mark Cuban told Business Insider that he wanted an open-minded leader who wouldn’t be an “ideologue” while in office.
Following the four-day convention in Chicago, Cuban praised the Democratic nominee on social media, particularly on her message to uplift America’s middle class by supporting small business owners and entrepreneurs as well as reducing costs around healthcare, groceries, and housing.
“Talking to stakeholders is the first step towards understanding what makes the economy work, or not work, from pricing to growth,” Cuban posted on X on Friday.
“She is pro business. She is her own person. She is not an ideologue,” Cuban wrote of Harris.
Cuban was one of the early supporters of Harris’ campaign after President Joe Biden dropped out on July 21. He added his name to a list of venture capitalists pledging their support for the Vice President. The list has accumulated 820 signatures so far.
The billionaire founder has defended some of Harris’ economic plans around subsidies for first-time homeowners and a federal ban on price-gouging.
He’s also said that he appreciates how Harris is pushing conversations around healthcare transparency and crypto regulation — both of which are areas that Cuban has some stake in with his online pharmacy company and investments in digital assets.
“Of course the devils in the details. But so far I like what I’ve heard,” Cuban previously told BI.
Trump vs. Harris
Regarding Harris’ Republican opponent, Donald Trump, Cuban sees a stark contrast.
“One of the things that makes KH stand apart from the republican nominee is that she is self aware,” Cuban told BI. “She knows what she doesn’t know and is willing to listen to business, from the smallest corner yogurt shop to the giants of industry.”
On X, Cuban has defended Harris against critics who point to a lack of specificity around her economic agenda, pointing out that Trump also has yet to outline specifics on his policy plans.
“We get to wait for her policy details like we wait for Trump’s policy details,” he wrote on August 18, replying to an X user. “Difference is that she is 4 weeks in. Trump announced when?”
Though both candidates have yet to outline a comprehensive economic agenda, Cuban evidently prefers Harris’ rhetoric. He highlighted moments of Harris’ speech at the DNC when she talked about bringing together employees and small business owners and criticized Trump’s vague plan to cool inflation.
Trump said in a speech on Wednesday that his plan to address inflation would involve signing an executive order that directs “every cabinet secretary and agency head to use every tool and authority at their disposal to defeat inflation and bring consumer prices rapidly down.”
Cuban responded on X: “What voters hear: He will instruct a bunch of un-named bureaucrats, and their agencies, talk to all the other un-named bureaucrats, and the thousands of bureaucrats that work for them, to defeat inflation in 100 days.”
He followed up on Friday by conducting a poll on X, asking users “which is better” between two choices: “Talk2 Gov Bureacrats,” referring to Trump’s message, or “Talk2 Business people,” referring to Harris’ message.
After the convention, Cuban said in a Friday post on X that Harris is reshaping her party.
“Kamala Harris is not falling in line with Democratic Party Policies. Kamala Harris is defining her own policies, and the Democratic Party is falling in line with her,” he wrote. “She literally is redefining the party.”
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