(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) Billionaire Shark Tank star Mark Cuban offered a rather uninspiring explanation for his support of Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election. He admitted that his reason for voting Democratic boiled down to a single point: Harris was not Donald Trump.
Cuban made these remarks during a Friday interview with ESPN personality and podcast host Stephen A. Smith on The Stephen A. Smith Show. Smith had asked Cuban to explain his support for Democrats.
“Why is it—tell us and remind us—why you were so supportive of Kamala Harris and the Democratic Party considering how chaotic things looked and we ultimately learned that side of the aisle was?” Smith asked.
“Because she wasn’t Donald Trump,” Cuban replied.
Taken aback by the lack of substance in the answer, Smith pressed further: “Simple as plain? Just that simple? If it were anybody else other than Donald Trump—let’s say for example it was Nikki Haley, let’s say for example it was Ron DeSantis, or Chris Christie even a Vivek Ramaswamy or somebody—are you saying that you may have thought differently?”
Cuban confirmed, admitting he “voted for Nikki Haley in the Texas primary.”
“I got you,” Smith said. “So you would have voted for her for presidency if she had won the Republican nomination?”
Cuban hesitated at first, admitting he did not agree with all of Haley’s policy proposals, but added, “I certainly would have considered it.”
Only then did Cuban share some positive thoughts about Harris.
“Look, I like Kamala,” Cuban said. “I don’t want to throw her under the bus. I think she’s smarter than people give her credit for but I think she was really held back by her team they would not let her do just basic things that would have made a lot of difference.”
Stephen A. Smith: “Tell us, and remind us, why you were so supportive of Kamala Harris?”
Mark Cuban: “Because she wasn't Donald Trump.”
Stephen A. Smith: “Simple as plain. Just that simple?”
Mark Cuban: *Nods his head* pic.twitter.com/ghdtn371vJ
— RedWave Press (@RedWave_Press) April 5, 2025
When asked by Smith, Cuban clarified that he is a registered independent.
Smith has recently gained attention for publicly rebuking the Democratic Party’s performance between 2021 and 2025.
He mentioned receiving backlash for pointing out the left’s fixation on identity politics and cancel culture.
