Mark Cuban Says He Wants To Run As Hillary Clinton’s VP
Billionaire Mark Cuban has said he’s keen on joining the Democratic ticket in this year’s presidential election.
Speaking to reporters at Politico on Thursday, the celebrity investor and Mavericks owner said his “independent, nonpartisan perspective” would make him a suitable vice presidential nominee for Hillary Clinton. He also went on to argue that his lack of political experience would help him to bridge gaps between American voters and the White House.
Sources within the Clinton campaign have already ruled Cuban out as a potential running mate. Yet the billionaire’s recent sorties into politics have undeniably generated a huge amount of interest among Democrats.
Despite claiming to enjoy a love-hate relationship with Donald Trump, Cuban has issued some pretty harsh statements on the presumptive GOP nominee and his supposed political policies.
At the start of May, Cuban told an audience at the SkyBridge Alternatives Conference in Las Vegas that Trump was “that guy who’ll walk into the bar and say anything to get laid.”
“That’s Donald Trump right now to a tee,” Cuban said.
And earlier this week, Cuban continued his offensive by publicly questioning Trump’s business credentials. Cuban even went so far as to argue that the presumptive GOP nominee was lying about his billionaire status.
“I don’t think he’s very good at brands for non-real-estate products. And, to me, it’s more a reflection of desperation,” he said in an interview with WABC. “As of May 27, Donald doesn’t have more than $165 million in cash and securities and bonds. And trust me, I’ve got a lot more than that in cash, securities and bonds.”
Cuban’s own net worth is currently estimated at some $3.2 billion – and unlike Trump, Cuban is widely regarded as a self-made businessman.
Raised in Pittsburgh, where his father upholstered cars for a living, Cuban worked his way through school as a bartender in order to make ends meet. He then got involved in a gaggle of tech start-ups before striking gold and rising to fame as a host on ABC‘s hit-show “Shark Tank”.
Although Cuban has since made numerous, casual references that he’s keen on getting involved in politics, few analysts had taken his words seriously until Cuban began to publicly bash Donald Trump this year.
So on Thursday, reporters capitalized on those recent interviews and pressed the boisterous NBA owner once more on whether he would be willing to step up to the plate and challenge Trump on the political stage.
“I think it would be challenging,” he told POLITICO in an email interview. “But if we are able to make the country and world a better place, it’s worth taking on the challenge.”
When asked whether his complete lack of political experience would be a hindrance in office, Cuban argued that it would actually make him a more valuable asset to the White House.
It’s worth noting that Mark Cuban has no official political affiliation at present. He’s donated to the political campaigns of both Democrats and Republicans, and he’s previously expressed sympathy with America’s Libertarian movement.
Bearing that in mind, Cuban has said he would expect to clash with would-be running mate Hillary Clinton on a wide range of issues. Yet he told Politico that he believed ideological, internal disagreements were a crucial aspect of effective governance.
“A successful partnership is defined by results,” he said. “We don’t have to be friends. We shouldn’t agree on everything. A little conflict can be good. It results in more critical thinking and hopefully better solutions.”
[Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images]
