An opinion piece by USA Today concludes that America does not need Dallas Mavericks' owner Mark Cuban entertaining any ideas about the presidency. Because he's too much like you know who: Donald John Trump. This is from the paper's editorial board or a political writer? No, it's the opinion of sports columnist Nancy Armour.
Armour rates Cuban, controversial owner of the NBA team and a "shark" investor on ABC's reality show, Shark Tank, unacceptable because he's "another billionaire businessman turned reality TV star who thinks being president of the United States is an entry-level job." Saying Cuban has "no business" running for the nation's highest office is Armour's jab at President Trump, who appeared on The Apprentice and won the presidency with no previous political experience.
Cuban has criticized both political parties and says he would run as an independent. That's quite similar to Trump running as a political outsider. Cuban says a president has "got to get right to the heart of the matter and get to the details first. Sort of like a business plan. That way every voter can see them.”
All of this is fine, Armour writes, "if you’re running a business where you’re the one calling the shots. Or you’re a would-be despot certain he has all the answers. But that isn’t what being president is. The president of the United States has to represent all of the people and work with Congress to craft policies that are good for the country as a whole, not one particular party or segment of the population. At least, that’s how it’s supposed to work."
Done beating around the bush, Armour says, "As critical as Cuban has been of President Donald Trump in the past, his interview with the Daily News showed he’s not all that different."
Running a business (like Cuban and Trump have both done) "doesn’t mean you can run the country. Starring on a popular TV show (as both have done) "isn’t an actual job qualification. There’s a difference between the ego needed to run for national office and the arrogance that makes you think you should."
By saying Trump got elected as an “outsider" doesn't go nearly far enough to suit Armour. She says Cuban is "glossing over the virulent racism and bigotry that fueled his (Trump's) election and continues to galvanize a large segment of the Republican base. Anyone so naïve – or willfully ignorant – not to recognize that should not be entrusted with a country whose intrinsic flaws have been allowed to fester for far too long."
Armour also rebukes Cuban ... and you know who, by projection ... for the Mavericks' "rampant culture of sexual harassment and workplace misconduct":
"That’s called privilege, the blissful ignorance that comes from thinking your achievements, success and wealth are all the result of your own doing. It overlooks the inherent advantages one’s been given, and inflates the sense that someone is smarter, or more capable, than they really are.
"Sound familiar?"
Being president isn’t a vanity project, Armour says, adding America doesn't need anyone else who's going to treat it like one.
Take that, President Trump ... or uh, Mark Cuban.
