United States – Business magnate Mark Cuban criticized fellow billionaire and Republican presidential aspirant Donald Trump on Thursday for pitching new levies on almost all Chinese products, suggesting that the American people will bear the cost, not the Chinese, as reported by Reuters.
Cuban, along with Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris, was seen in Wisconsin on Thursday and is expected to take part in a town hall for Harris in Phoenix on Saturday before proceeding to Michigan.
He wasn’t the only billionaire on the campaign trail: Tesla (TSLA.O) chief executive Elon Musk campaigned for Trump voters in Pennsylvania on Thursday, ahead of the mid-term elections on Tuesday, 5 November.
Cuban Calls Trump’s Tariff Proposals “Crazy”
Criticizing Trump’s proposal to announce new tariffs that could restrict up to 60% of Chinese goods imports in an effort to increase domestic production, Cubans said it was a “crazy notion as consumers would ultimately pay the price.
Trump has argued that pricey tariffs for goods not only from contestants like China but also friends like the EU are going to bring back American manufacturing and generate enough income to offset the deficit worry.
Trump’s Tariffs Aimed at Reviving American Manufacturing
Yesterday, Trump said during a somewhat confrontational interview held at the Economic Club of Chicago: “You know, I think the most beautiful word in the world is ‘tariff.’”
The Trump campaign also failed to reply to requests for comment.
Cuban, an entrepreneur and a co-host of the TV show Shark Tank, brings a techno-savvy pop culture cache that makes the business world appealing, especially among young American male adults who are a significant segment of voters where the gender divide is now clear in that the overall male voters have crossed over to Trump.
Cuban’s Insight: Tariffs Harm Small Businesses
Cuban called Trump’s ideas in the field of trade and tariffs “nonsense” while Trump was yet a political candidate in the 1990’s and in the early 2000s; however, Cuban admitted that at least Trump had a clear vision of what he wanted to do with the trade policy and tariffs in the reported years.
“Donald Trump is the Grinch that wants to steal your Christmas,” he said. “The Grinch doesn’t understand how tariffs work… The Grinch is the one that’s going to be putting these small businesses out of business.”
Cuban Stands Apart from Political Donors Like Musk
Cubans are not political donors, unlike Musk, who has given around $75 million to organizations that support Trump. Records from the Federal Election Commission reveal that Cuban made a single $1,000 gift in 2002 under the name of California Democrat Congressman Zoe Lofgren, as reported by Reuters.