Billionaire entrepreneur Mark Cuban used social media on Friday to clarify remarks he made about former President Donald Trump during an appearance on “The View.”
Cuban apologized for his comment that Trump is “never around strong, intelligent women,” which sparked swift backlash from Trump’s supporters and the former president himself. While on “The View,” Cuban implied that Trump’s distance from Nikki Haley was due to discomfort with intellectually strong women, referencing Haley’s criticism that Trump’s campaign emphasizes “bromance and masculinity” rather than messaging that appeals to female voters.
“When I said this during the interview, I didn’t get it out exactly the way I thought I did. So I apologize to anyone who felt slighted or upset by my response. As I said, it wasn’t about trump voters, supporters or employees. Current or former,” Cuban wrote on X. “And, I set myself up for the 6 sec soundbite. No excuses. Can’t nail every interview. My skin is thick enough.”
Trump responded to Cuban’s comments by calling the billionaire “a really dumb guy” in a post on X just hours after the show aired.
“Mark Cuban, a really dumb guy, who thinks he’s ‘hot stuff’ but he’s absolutely nothing, is now out there saying that I don’t surround myself with strong women,” Trump said. “Actually, he is very wrong, I surround myself with the strongest of women – With the understanding that ALL women are great, whether strong or not strong.”
Cuban’s attempt to clarify his remarks may remind Americans of a recent incident involving President Joe Biden, who had to address backlash over a controversial comment about Trump supporters. After Biden referred to Trump supporters as “garbage,” his team quickly worked to soften the statement, with White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre clarifying that Biden wasn’t making a sweeping statement about Trump’s entire base.
“Just to clarify, he was not calling Trump supporters garbage which is why he put out, this is why he wanted to make sure that we put out a statement that clarified what he meant and what he was trying to say … He was regarding to the comedian, and I quote ‘I refer to the hateful rhetoric about Puerto Rico by Trump’s supporter,’” Jean-Pierre said.
