Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban was at the The SkyBridge Alternatives (SALT) Conference in Las Vegas on Thursday, and he spent much of his time on a conference stage chastising Donald Trump's bluster and bravado, even comparing the presumptive GOP nominee to a flirt who’s had too many drinks.
At one point likening Trump's campaign to a "Seinfeld" episode, Cubanwas immediately clear in his intent: to show that The Donald's entire candidacy is based on a whole lot of nothing.
"There's that guy who'll walk into the bar and say anything to get laid,” Cuban said, likely alluding to Trump’s turnstile-like evolution of stances on issues such as abortion and minimum wage. “That's Donald Trump right now to a T. But it's all of us who are going to get fucked.”
"Everybody's got that friend that you just shake your head at,” he added. “He's that guy who'd get drunk and fall over all the time, or just says dumb shit all the time, but he's your friend."
Cuban’s previous takes on Trump’s candidacy have been all over the map. Last summer, Cuban claimed that The Donald was "probably the best thing to happen to politics in a long, long time." In September, the Mavericks owner said that he “love[d] the fact that he changed the game” of politics. This past December, Cuban said that he “liked” Trump, but that he’s “kinda gone off” and tends to say the “stupidest shit.” And in February, he complimented Trump, stating that he comes across as “strong” and as “a leader,” while underscoring that he disagrees with much of Trump's actual political beliefs.
“It's kind of a ‘don't hate the player, hate the game’-type situation,” Cuban said in February. “ ... I've said this directly to him. I said, ‘Donald, I don't agree with a lot of what you're saying. But at least you're the one person that's been able to go out there and get something done and show some accomplishment in their life -- other than this bill or that bill passed or stopped.’"
But now it’s May. There’s no one left in the Republican field except that brazen candidate willing to say and do anything to get a vote -- or, in Cuban’s analogy, to get the woman’s number. And after years of what Cuban has deemed a “love-hate” relationship between the two billionaires -- and all these months of partial praise and qualified criticism -- Cuban is willing to call Trump’s run for the White House as he sees it: “the 'Seinfeld' candidacy.”
“It’s the campaign about nothing,” he reiterated.
The sitcom famously pegged itself as “a show about nothing” -- and as Trump picks up on America’s anger and distrust in D.C., he, at least according to Cuban's insinuation, has inflated his own campaign with hot air. Per Cuban, Trump hasn't yet fully delved into the issues, as lobbing up critiques and condemnations of the current political scene seems much more effective at attracting voters to his corner.
“It was the Puffy Shirt, the Elaine Dance, the whatever,” Cuban explained, listing episodes of the sitcom. “For Trump, it’s The Immigration episode, The Wall episode, The Jobs episode. His people don’t want to hear the details.”
Not limiting himself to the GOP side of things, Cuban made sure to offer up some counsel to Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton before leaving the stage.
"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 goddamn airhead.'”
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