Mark Cuban takes on Donald Trump in profanity-laced tirade
WARNING: This story contains graphic language
Billionaire Mark Cuban took aim at the presidential candidate he says he has a "love-hate relationship" with, telling attendees at an investor conference in Las Vegas that Donald Trump is a "God damn airhead" who constantly says things that either aren't true, or are impossible to verify.
Speaking at the three-day SALT conference, the owner of the Dallas Mavericks said the presumptive Republican presidential candidate is "that guy who'll walk into the bar and say anything to get laid. That's Donald Trump right now to a T. But it's all of us who are going to get f--cked," Cuban said at a question-and-answer session that followed his speech, according to Business Insider.
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As billionaire investors of comparable ages, Cuban acknowledges he has a history with Trump.
"We go way back, and it's a love-hate relationship," Cuban said. "Everybody's got that friend that you just shake your head at. He's that guy who'd get drunk and fall over all the time, or just says dumb s--t all the time, but he's your friend," the website reported Cuban as saying.
No stranger to controversy for his outlandish comments himself, Cuban said Trump's recent popularity is due to his ability to tap into problems and concerns that many Americans are feeling, such as his plan to build a wall to keep out illegal Mexican border crossers, and a vow to rip up and renegotiate global trade deals. But he said Trump falls short when it comes to actually providing solutions to those problems.
"Being empathetic is one thing, and that's good," he said. "But given the office he's running for, trying to come up with a solution is even more important. And I don't think he's there yet."
Cuban also had advice for Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton for how she could beat him in a general election: pick someone like himself for her running mate.
"I would get a vice-presidential candidate who's someone like me who would just throw bombs at Donald," he said. "And I would be like, 'Donald, I like you. We're friends, but you're a God damn airhead.'"