The One Billionaire With The Credibility To Debunk Trump

Could Warren Buffett be the one billionaire that can actually help defeat Donald Trump?

Buffett, who is the third-richest person in the world, called out the GOP presidential nominee Monday at a rally for Hillary Clinton. The self-made billionaire, who runs conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway, challenged Trump to release his tax returns, and blasted the reality TV star for the offensive comments he’s made about Gold Star parents Khizr and Ghazala Khan. (“The final straw,” Buffett said.)

And, of course, Buffett criticized Trump’s business background:

“In 1995, when he offered this company, if a monkey had thrown a dart at the stock page, the monkey on average would have made 150 percent,” Buffett said. “But the people that believed in him, that listened to his siren song, came away losing well over 90 cents on the dollar. ... I’ve really never known another businessman that brags about his bankruptcies. To tell you the truth, why not? I mean, it’s his claim to stardom. I don’t know anybody else that’s had six bankruptcies, but there he is.”

Buffett, who’s supported Clinton for months, is not the first billionaire or prominent businessperson to denounce Trump. Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg forcefully made the anti-Trump case at the DNC last week. George Soros, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff, and Dallas Mavericks owner and reality TV star Mark Cuban are all pro-Clinton.

But Buffett, with his reputation as a modest, folksy billionaire ― it’s a thing, I know ― might be the one super-rich person that Americans actually listen to. He’s been critical of Trump for years.

In an election cycle where voters ― particularly those supporting Trump and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) ― have expressed anger over rising inequality and the role of money in politics, it’s unclear what kind of sway the super-rich’s words have over the electorate.

When HuffPost reported in June that 56 top businesspeople had endorsed Clinton, commenters weren’t impressed. Many thought this was just confirmation that Clinton was on the side of Wall Street and “in the pocket” of corporate interests.

An introvert with a down-home populist reputation as a Coke-drinking, ice cream-eating guy who chooses to reside in his home state of Nebraska rather than the super-elite bastions of, say, New York City or London, Buffett isn’t your typical rich guy. He still lives in the five-bedroom house he bought a half-century ago for $31,500. He’s reportedly never attended the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland ― possibly the ultimate ultra-elite schmooze fest. On Monday, he pledged to drive up to 10 voters to the polls on Election Day.

He is, in other words, the anti-Trump. (Though he’s not free from controversy. Buffett’s business in mobile homes has been criticized for preying on the poor.)

In 2011, Buffett wrote an editorial for The New York Times titled “Stop Coddling The Super-Rich,” where he said that his secretary and every person in his office was taxed at a higher rate than him.

“My friends and I have been coddled long enough by a billionaire-friendly Congress,” he wrote. “It’s time for our government to get serious about shared sacrifice.”

Buffett argued that the federal government should raise taxes on those making more than $1 million, inspiring the Obama administration to propose its so-called Buffett rule. The new tax did not pass the Republican Congress.

Trump has proposed cutting taxes on rich people. This position hasn’t done him any favors with the wealthy. Even the infamously pro-business, pro-Republican Koch brothers have declined to support him.

On Tuesday morning, Trump declined to respond to Buffett. “Look, Warren Buffett has been a fan of — he’s a Democrat,” Trump told Fox Business Network. “He’s been a Hillary fan for a long time, and I think that’s fine. Hillary’s a disaster.”

Editor’s note: Donald Trump regularly incites political violence and is a serial liar, rampant xenophobe, racist, misogynist and birther who has repeatedly pledged to ban all Muslims ― 1.6 billion members of an entire religion ― from entering the U.S.