Lead Patriot

Right Leaning Commentary

Trump Gives Statement After Cuban Comment
The Scoop

Trump Gives Statement After Cuban Comment

Billionaire entrepreneur Mark Cuban found himself in hot water during an appearance on ABC’s The View, where he took aim at former President Donald Trump, claiming Trump never surrounds himself with “strong, intelligent women.” Cuban’s comment, intended to portray Trump as insecure around powerful women, instead sparked immediate backlash, with critics accusing him of insulting not only Trump’s female associates but also the many women who support or work with him. In the hours that followed, Cuban’s attempt to clarify only deepened the controversy.

After his initial remarks on The View, Cuban quickly took to X (formerly Twitter) to explain his stance. He clarified, “This is what I said during a conversation about why Nikki Haley was not active in his campaign … Donald Trump, you never see him around strong, intelligent women. Ever. It’s just that simple. They’re intimidating to him. He doesn’t like to be challenged by them … Nikki Haley will call him on his nonsense with reproductive rights and how he sees and treats and talks about women.” Cuban’s goal, he added, was to highlight Trump’s reluctance to publicly associate with women who might challenge him, such as former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley.

Cuban attempted to soften his initial remarks, emphasizing that he wasn’t saying all female Trump supporters were weak or unintelligent. “I’m happy to clarify that … I know many strong, intelligent women voting for Trump, including in my extended family. I’m certainly not saying female voters are not smart, strong and intelligent,” he explained. He also acknowledged that Trump had worked with high-profile women, mentioning figures like Ivanka Trump, Elaine Chao, and Kellyanne Conway. However, Cuban’s clarification echoed much of his initial criticism, claiming Trump’s discomfort with being challenged by strong women.

The response to Cuban’s clarification was swift. Social media commentators and public figures weighed in, with many seeing his follow-up as a thinly veiled reiteration of his original criticism. Conservative commentator Greg Price summarized it bluntly, tweeting, “‘Let me clarify something,’ I did in fact call all of you women around Donald Trump weak and dumb.’”

OutKick host Tomi Lahren chimed in, pointing out, “The clarification is … exactly the same as the initial statement, Mark.” Lahren argued that Cuban’s attempt to distinguish between female Trump voters and the women he accused Trump of shunning was a distinction without a difference.

Adding to the debate, other critics accused Cuban of sounding patronizing. One pointed out, “You explicitly say ‘strong, intelligent women’ don’t hang around Trump, which is a slap in the face to women like Tulsi Gabbard, Ivanka, and others.” Another compared Cuban’s defense to President Joe Biden’s controversial statements about Trump supporters, suggesting that Cuban, like Biden, was “telling Americans their eyes and ears were lying” if they took his words at face value.

Written by Arthur Higgens - November 3, 2024