Mark Cuban Accuses Donald Trump of ‘Copying’ Kamala Harris

Billionaire and Shark Tank star Mark Cuban accused former President Donald Trump of “copying” Vice President Kamala Harris’ policies on Friday.
With this year’s presidential election fast approaching, both Trump, the Republican nominee, and Harris, the Democratic nominee, aim to address key issues for voters including reproductive rights, gun control and the economy, among other important topics.
Reproductive rights and abortion are just one issue that has been significant for voters since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June 2022, as many Republican-controlled states have put abortion restrictions into effect with 21 states banning or restricting the medical practice at every stage of pregnancy.
Following the Democratic National Convention (DNC) this week, which saw Harris accept the Democratic nomination, Trump took to Truth Social, his social media platform, on Friday to share his thoughts on reproductive rights if he wins reelection this year.
“My Administration will be great for women and their reproductive rights,” the former president wrote.
In response to Trump’s post, Cuban, a frequent critic of his, took to X, formerly Twitter, to accuse the former president of “copying” Harris’ policies.
“And now he is copying @KamalaHQ policies. What’s going on here?” Cuban asked.
Newsweek has reached out to Harris’ campaign via email for comment.
Trump has previously said that he thinks abortion limits should be left to the states. After months of speculation, he also declined to endorse a national abortion ban.
“My view is now that we have abortion where everybody wanted it from a legal standpoint, the states will determine by vote or legislation or perhaps both,” he said. “And whatever they decide must be the law of the land—in this case, the law of the state.”
However, Democrats have continued to dismiss it as empty rhetoric as Trump has labeled himself the “most pro-life president in American history” during the campaign trail and spoke about appointing the Supreme Court justices who helped overturn Roe v. Wade.
Harris has consistently supported abortion rights and has spoken out against the numerous state-level abortion bans implemented in recent years. When she was a senator, she voted against a bill that would ban abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy and, as vice president, she spoke out against the Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.
Christina Ewig, professor and faculty director of the Center on Women, Gender and Public Policy at the University of Minnesota, previously told Newsweek how this issue creates a clear line between the two nominees.
“This is an issue that gives Democrats a political advantage in this campaign, given broad public support for abortion rights. I doubt the Harris-Walz ticket will squander this opportunity to draw a clear line between themselves and the Trump-Vance ticket on reproductive rights,” she said.
This is not the first time Cuban has commented on Trump’s recent remarks on differing policies.
Speaking via phone on Fox News on Thursday as the DNC was underway in Chicago, Trump was asked what he would do in the city if he were to win a second term as he called for gun confiscation and demanded cops “stop and frisk, and take their gun away.”
“You got to let them do their job, stop and frisk, and take their gun away. You’ve got to do it,” the former president said.
In response to Trump’s remarks, Cuban wrote on X on Friday, “Got to give him credit. He is adding to his list of policies.”
Responding to Cuban’s X posts, Trump’s spokesperson Steven Cheung condemned Cuban in an emailed statement to Newsweek while taking aim at Harris, accusing her of “copying” the former president on an economic issue.
“What a moronic and uneducated thing for him to say. Comrade Kamala doesn’t have any original ideas of her own, so she’s resorted to copying President Trump on No Tax on Tips,” Cheung said.
Trump has previously accused Harris of being a “copycat” after she pledged to end federal taxes on tips for service workers earlier this month.
Harris announced the proposal, which mirrors one made by Trump earlier this year, during a rally in Las Vegas. “When I am president, we will continue our fight for working families of America, including to raise the minimum wage and eliminate taxes on tips for service and hospitality workers,” she said.
Trump immediately reacted to the proposal accusing Harris of copying his policy idea. “Kamala Harris, whose ‘Honeymoon’ period is ENDING, and is starting to get hammered in the Polls, just copied my NO TAXES ON TIPS Policy,” he wrote on Truth Social.
Meanwhile, Cuban on Friday praised Harris for defining her own policies, adding that the Democratic Party has been “falling in line with her.”
“Kamala Harris is not falling in line with Democratic Party Policies. Kamala Harris is defining her own policies, and the Democratic Party is falling in line with her,” he wrote on X.
Update: 8/24/24, 4:24 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with comment from Cheung.