Billionaire entrepreneur Mark Cuban, who has thrown his weight behind Vice President Kamala Harris, told ABC News on Tuesday that he tried to arrange a private meeting between Elon Musk and Harris, but his team refused.
Cuban said the campaign was passed because “they didn’t think Elon Musk could keep the conversation private.”
“The things he says about Kamala are so far-fetched, I thought it would be beneficial to talk about them,” Cuban said of Musk.
If Harris wins the race, Cuban said he will still try to create a conversation between Harris and Musk, who he considers to be “one of the best entrepreneurs.” The move “isn’t political, it’s common sense,” Cuban added.
Activist Mark Cuban speaks at a campaign event for Democratic U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse on October 17, 2024 in La Crosse.
Craig Lassig/AFP via Getty Images
Cuban also said Musk’s $1 million a day pledge to voters for signing his political action committee’s petition is a move “out of desperation” and that he “may back it up.”
Up to two weeks The elections Day, Cuban he told CNBC Harris says the campaign’s biggest challenge is that “they’re not big sellers.”
Cuban explained that being a salesman is not Harris’ forte.
“Harris is not a good salesman — he’s strong in politics, integrity, ethics, understanding, self-awareness, open-mindedness,” said Cuban, former majority owner and star of the ABC reality show “Shark Tank.” of the Dallas Mavericks of the NBA. “He’s great in politics for business and in all politics. That’s where his strengths are. Not everyone is a great salesman.”
“Trump is the opposite. He will say things that are not remotely true,” Cuban said, adding that Trump will repeat falsehoods to sell.
Democratic vice presidential candidate Kamala Harris speaks at a town hall at the Sharon Lynne Wilson Center for the Arts in Brookfield, Wisc., on October 21, 2024.
Jacquelyn Martin/AP
Cuban said he’s talked to Harris’ team about improving as salespeople, but said that in the sprint to the finish line, “you’re not going to send him to a sales class at this point.”
“If I’m going to vote for someone who’s ethical and honest, I’m going to take the person who’s not a great salesman,” Cuban said, adding that surrogates like him can help sell along the way and so can the candidate himself. it doesn’t have to be a best seller.
With Election Day fast approaching, Cuban and other surrogates are talking to voters about the value the candidate brings and their vision for the country in what will be a tight race. Earlier this month, Cuban kicked off a multi-day speaking tour in battleground Pennsylvania touting the Harris-Walz ticket.
Cuban said he recently spoke with Harris, who noted that his schedule is “worse than a professional sports team,” so he wanted to see how he’s doing.
“I asked him how he’s doing. He’s doing well. He’s holding up. He’s a workout machine. Harris is a workout machine,” Cuban said, referring to his exercise routine. “For once Donald Trump he can’t see his toes.’
Cuban said Harris’ economic plan is an improvement over Trump’s, which he said would raise costs for businesses and consumers.
“The second biggest line item for every business is health, it’s benefits, and it’s looking to reduce those costs. Donald Trump has the concepts of a plan,” Cuban said, when Trump asked ABC News about his response to the presidential debate. health care plan
“He said he’ll do all the rates. That could be 60% of everything. Pretty much everything you buy. christmas It is made sometime from China. If that happens next year, every household will have to cut back on what they buy for Christmas,” Cuban added.
SpaceX and Tesla founder Elon Musk participates in a town hall-style meeting to promote early and absentee voting at Ridley High School on October 17, 2024 in Folsom, Pennsylvania.
Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
Despite the tightening of the polls, Cuban insisted that the momentum is in Harris’s favor.
As of July 23, Harris’ approval rating was 51.6% “unfavorable” and 38.6% “favorable,” based on 538 average approval ratings. At the moment, 47.2% see it as unfavorable and 46.6% as favorable.
Cuban said 13 weeks ago that Harris’ “sides were negative,” but things have improved now.
“He was behind what Joe Biden was pulling at the time. And in those 13 weeks, at worst, he’s caught up and at best he’s ahead. Do you realize how incredible that is? Against someone who’s a former president and ran in the last cycle almost all the time since then he’s campaigning.”
