Mark Cuban Joins Harris on Trail to Hit Trump Over Tariffs

Billionaire investor Mark Cuban attacked Republican Donald Trump over his pledge to impose sweeping tariffs, calling it a “stupid” move that will only increase costs for American families who are already worried about higher prices.

“We all know that across-the-board tariffs are a tax on everybody,” Cuban said Thursday at a campaign event for Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris in La Crosse, Wisconsin. “Hear me when I say: Donald Trump wants your Christmas to be bad.”

Cuban is a longtime critic of Trump and one of Harris’s most vocal supporters in the business community. The co-owner of the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks, who also appears on the television show Shark Tank, Cuban has a net worth of $7.9 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

At the same event, Harris also criticized Trump for his pledge to impose tariffs on both U.S. adversaries and allies — a move that the Republican former president says would raise revenue and encourage manufacturers to bring operations back to the U.S. Will be celebrated.

The Vice President has said those plans would have the effect of a “national sales tax.”

“Essentially, he plans to impose a 20% tax, if not higher, on everyday basic necessities,” Harris said, which economists estimate would cost the average American $4,000 more per year. ”

Trump has vowed to impose a 60% levy on imports from China and a 10% duty on the rest of the world, which he says will help fund plans to renew expiring tax cuts and other tax breaks and credits. But most economists have said the tariffs are unlikely to generate the revenue they need and are likely to increase inflation and pressure the Federal Reserve on interest rates.

The former president defended his agenda in an interview with Bloomberg News editor-in-chief John Micklethwait at the Economic Club of Chicago on Tuesday, saying the policies to raise tariffs were to “protect the companies we have here and new companies.” Will go inside.”

The economy — and the high prices that have strained American families — is a major issue in the campaign and a political liability for Harris, with polls showing that voters prefer Trump’s approach to the issue, though the vice president has narrowed that gap.

The event in Wisconsin, along with Cuba, is one of three stops Harris is making in the state on Thursday, part of a week-long effort at the Democratic Blue Wall — a trio of states, including Michigan and Pennsylvania, that Provides them with the clearest path to victory.

Tariffs are paid by importers and the costs are usually partially or completely passed on to consumers.

“This guy has very little understanding of tariffs, he thinks China pays for it. This is the same guy who even thought Mexico would pay for the wall,” Cuban said on Thursday, referencing Trump’s 2016 campaign mantra that America’s neighbor to the south would pay for a border wall.

Cuban said the tariffs on Chinese goods would extend to Main Street stores across the US.

He said, “When people can’t buy as much as they were going to buy because prices went up because of these stupid Chinese tariffs, it’s not only a bad Christmas for you, it’s a bad Christmas for every single retailer.” Is.” Labeling Trump “The Grinch”.

With assistance from Skylar Woodhouse.

This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without any modifications to the text.