President Donald Trump speaks during a rally at the El Paso County Coliseum on February 11, 2019 in El Paso, Texas.
Joe Raedle | Getty Images
President Donald Trump would win a second term in office if the election were held today instead of in November of next year, billionaire businessman Mark Cuban told CNBC in an interview that aired Friday.
“As of today, I think he has the advantage. But there’s a long, long way to go and a lot can happen between now and then,” said Cuban, who’s been cagey about whether he might run for the White House himself.
Speaking with CNBC’s Deirdre Bosa, Cuban said Democrats are making a mistake in allowing Trump to drive the conversation.
“When I think about why people voted for President Trump, I think they were smart actually in a lot of respects. They realized that when you vote for a traditional politician you get traditional political things. The people who voted for Donald Trump didn’t want the same old, same old,” Cuban said.
“Yet, here are the Democrats, they’re competing with each other to win a primary rather than trying to find solutions for the country,” he argued. “People want someone to fight the battles for them. And I don’t think they see that coming from the Democrats right now in traditional politicians. I’m not happy about it.”
However, Cuban evaded direct questions on whether he has thought more about entering the 2020 presidential race, saying he’s “looking forward to the Mavs season,” referring to his ownership of the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks.
In May, Cuban left open the possibility of running, telling CNBC, “We’ll see.” He said at the time that some things would need to happen for him to be motivated enough to enter the race. He did not elaborate. But he did also say if he were to ever decide to run for president, it would be as an independent.
Cuban told Bosa on Thursday evening he’s encouraged that two non-politicians are among the crowded field of candidates seeking the Democratic presidential nomination. He acknowledged tech entrepreneur Andrew Yang and former hedge-fund manager and fellow billionaire Tom Steyer, who has been leading a drive to impeach Trump. “Maybe they’ll come up with something unique that’ll drive people.”
Asked whether there’s room for another billionaire in the race, Cuban said, “I think there’s room for people who will solve problems. I think that’s a big part of what people are looking for.” But so far, he argued, Democrats are not offering any fixes. “I just see everybody trying to one up each other with, ‘We’re gonna spend more money,’ and without saying how it’s going to turn into a solution. And to me, that’s a problem.”
Cuban officially announced support in July 2016 of Democrat Hillary Clinton for president, after trolling Trump for months on social media. After Clinton lost, Cuban did call for Americans to give then President-elect Trump a chance. However, in the months after the inauguration, Cuban went back to his Trump-bashing ways.
