With Election Day looming, billionaire investor and entrepreneur Mark Cuban was in Atlanta on Thursday to make the economic case for supporting Vice President Kamala Harris.
“I’m here to show you that Kamala Harris is better for your bank account than Donald Trump,” Cuban told a group of about 100 Georgia business leaders assembled at the Gathering Spot. The Black-owned networking hub and coworking space has become a consistent stop for President Joe Biden, Harris, administration officials and campaign surrogates when they swing through Atlanta.
Cuban is a high-profile surrogate for Harris as the economy looms large for voters. Economic matters are the highest polling issues for Georgians, according to an Atlanta Journal-Constitution poll released last week.
More than 35% said that jobs and the economy or inflation and the cost of living were their top issues. Close to 60% expect the economy to get better in the next 12 months, the poll of likely Georgia voters found.
Cuban stood in the center of a large conference room at the Gathering Spot, flanked on four sides by rows of small business owners, and contrasted Harris’ and former President Donald Trump’s plans on taxes, health care costs, tariffs and deportation. He highlighted how each plan would affect businesses.
“I’m not a Democrat, I’m not a Republican. I’m an independent,” Cuban told the audience. “I’m not a donor. I’m here because I think (Harris) is best for small business.”
Trump has promised to increase tariffs, extend the tax cuts passed in 2017 under his tenure and deport millions of people living in the country illegally, steps he and his supporters have said will improve housing costs and create jobs.
He has also broached the idea of eliminating taxes on a range of workers, from restaurant servers to police officers, and has at least flirted with the idea of abolishing the national income tax and funding the government with tariffs.
But Cuban said business owners like those in the audience will bear the burden of increased tariffs. He said deportations will negatively impact the small business owners who employ immigrants, and that while Trump has a “concept of a plan” on health care, Harris has a proposal that will lower costs for employers.
Harris has proposed expanding child tax credits, offering subsidies to first-time homebuyers, controlling the cost of prescription medications and extending tax cuts, but not for higher-income households. Cuban said people who make $400,000 or less will not see their taxes rise under Harris.
Miguel Martinez-Jimenez/AJC
Miguel Martinez-Jimenez/AJC
But there are things that Harris cannot fix, Cuban said, such as the prices of groceries that have increased under the Biden administration. He said that under Harris, the cost of medicine would go down and that would offset the higher costs of goods in household budgets.
The “Shark Tank” judge also wanted to counteract the idea that Harris doesn’t have specific plans, so he invited the entrepreneurs in the audience to ask him detailed questions.
They asked Cuban about Harris’ plans for addressing anticompetitive practices by large corporations, rolling back Trump-era tariffs and how she will follow through with her promises if elected.
Cuban didn’t have an answer for some questions on nonprofits and government minority contracting programs, but he told the audience that he would discuss the issues raised with Harris’ team.
Miguel Martinez-Jimenez
Miguel Martinez-Jimenez
On Thursday, Cuban made controversial comments on “The View” about why he thinks Nikki Haley has not been a presence on the Trump campaign trail, saying Trump is never around “strong, intelligent women” because they intimidate him.
Former Georgia U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler was one of many conservative women who have taken umbrage with the statement, writing on X, “(Mark Cuban) I’ve been a CEO and professional sports team owner JUST like you. I’m one of the millions of strong, conservative women who back Trump.”
“I‘m not saying that Republican women who vote for him aren’t smart and intelligent and strong,” Cuban told reporters after Thursday’s event in Atlanta, adding that he’s seen Trump work with women such as Kellyanne Conway and Tulsi Gabbard. “It’s not that he doesn’t work with them, but … when was the last time you saw him side by side with any of them?”
Harris will be back in Georgia for a rally on Saturday to make her closing case. Trump will be in the Macon area on Sunday.
Staff writer Michael Kannell contributed to this article.
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