Tech billionaire and DOGE king Elon Musk is on track to make Donald Trump’s job dismantling the federal government “1,000 times harder” — and Musk couldn’t care less, Shark Tank entrepreneur Mark Cuban warned at a political conference
“Elon doesn’t give a s**t,” Cuban added. “He’s like, I’ll be rich no matter what.”
The Dallas Mavericks owner attacked Musk during an interview on stage over the weekend in Washington, D.C. at the Principles First Summit of mostly conservative anti-Trumpers with independents and even left-of-center Democrats.
Speakers included Trump critics like the president’s former National Security Adviser John Bolton, attorney George Conway, and former police officers attacked by Trump supporters at the January 6 Capitol siege. An email sent Sunday to organizers threatened several speakers’ lives and claimed that pipebombs had been planted on the site. No further information was provided on the pipebomb threat; no one was injured.
Cuban, who went on the stump for Kamala Harris in the presidential election, insisted he’s not a Republican or a Democrat, but “leans right fiscally, a little bit left socially.”
He praised Trump’s astounding “sales” skills in politics. And he mocked Democrats’ sales challenges. He complained that Democrats right now couldn’t sell $1 for 50 cents even after convening a committee to try to figure out how to do it — while Trump could sell a dollar for $2.
The problem is that Trump stumbles on “execution,” Cuban added.
His salesmanship is “what’s made Donald Trump so successful,” said Cuban. “He’s able to put out messages, and people see in him what they want to see. But that doesn’t mean he can execute,” Cuban added. “He’s still in the salesmanship phase, and that’s where we are right now [and] ... people are wondering: ‘Can you execute on this?’”
Despite some cracks in his support, his backers are still reluctant to hit out — yet, said Cuban. ‘It’s like when “you marry somebody that your family hates. For at least the first three to six months, even if you find bodies [buried] in the basement, you’re not admitting to your family that you made a mistake.”
But Trump and Musk’s stumbles are a “gift to the Democrats,” said Cuban. And Trump’s problems are going to continue, not only because of Musk but because the president with a “few exceptions” has not “picked the best people” for his Cabinet and other positions, he added to laughter from the audience.
Cuban suggested Democrats up their “sales” game with intriguing bills. Even if they can’t pass, proposed legislation can make power points, he noted.
Cuban suggested, for example, that the Democrats could call for prosecution within a certain amount of time for any fraud uncovered by the Department of Government Efficiency. But if the DOGE accusations prove false, Musk and his staff would be liable for libel and slander.
That way, Cuban added: “Elon’s gotta either put up or shut up.”
Musk could not immediately be reached for comment by The Independent.
White House communications director Steven Cheung derided the summit on his government X account as the “Cuck Convention.” The word “cuck,” a favorite of macho far-right militant groups like the Proud Boys, describes a man who watches his wife have sex with other men.
