Joe Biden Still Has Mark Cuban's Support—Here's Why

As beleaguered President Joe Biden faces continued calls to step down from his campaign for a second term in the White House, billionaire businessman Mark Cuban counts himself among those who is standing by the Democrat.

Biden, the presumptive 2024 Democratic candidate, is expected to face off against Republican rival Donald Trump this November. However, the 81-year-old incumbent's shaky debate performance last month against Trump, 78, only served to increase already existing questions about his age and mental acuity.

During the televised clash hosted by CNN, a number of viewers stated that Biden sounded hoarse and lacked energy throughout the night. A Biden aide told Newsweek that the president was battling a cold at the time. Biden himself blamed his poor execution on failing to "listen" to his staff and instead deciding "to travel around the world a couple of times" before the debate, telling supporters at a fundraiser in Virginia last week that he "almost fell asleep on stage."

Since then, Biden sparked further concern before and during a press conference last week, when he introduced Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky as "President Putin," before correcting himself, and he referred to Vice President Kamala Harris as "Vice President Trump."

The blunders intensified calls from both sides of U.S. politics for Biden to ditch his reelection efforts ahead of November. At least 17 Democratic members of Congress and senators have asked Biden to end his 2024 campaign.

Hollywood actor George Clooney penned a July 10 New York Times Op-Ed titled: "I Love Joe Biden. But We Need a New Nominee." In it, the Oscar winner wrote that while he considers Biden "a friend" and does "believe in him," Democrats "are not going to win in November with this president."

However, Cuban is standing by Biden, staying true to his conviction, after telling Bloomberg in March that in a race between the president and Trump, he'd always choose Biden, even if he was "being given last rites."

"I don't want a snake oil salesperson as president," Cuban further stated. "I'm voting for Biden-Harris over Trump all day every day."

Debate Aftermath

Following the June 27 debate, the entrepreneur conceded in a lengthy post on X, formerly Twitter, that the incumbent's "performance was awful."

"But so was Trump's," he added. "Biden was feeble. Trump couldn't directly answer a single question and lied with every response. The question is what features voters believe make a better POTUS: Feeble, Capable and Ethical vs Vigorous, Unethical and Incapable of telling the truth. I'll vote ethical every time."

"The reality is Joe wasn't capable last night of debating someone who only lies," he went on. "He doesn't have the energy or ability to shout him down, hold him accountable and laugh at Trump's responses.

"Joe could have held his own against a candidate that actually can discuss policy. But that wasn't the challenge last night and Joe wasn't prepared or capable of dealing with Donald and his style."

Cuban went on to be highly critical of Trump, stating that there "was nothing that would give anyone confidence he could hold his own in any complicated situation. Or that he could intellectually go toe to toe with any world leader or adversary."

"That doesn't make Biden's performance any less awful," he continued. "But, he answered the questions he was asked, even if the presentation was underwhelming. And we have the last three plus years and of his being POTUS without his getting laughed or smirked at, no tell-alls or leaks discussing his incompetence. No former advisers or cabinet members saying they won't vote for him.

"That gives me confidence that in the normal duties of the Presidency he can hold his own and do the job."

Importance of Optics

Cuban, however, agreed that optics are king. "Unfortunately, This election is not about policies," he said. "It's about soundbites, social media and who delivers them better and the algorithms that deliver them to voters.

"Trump is far better than Biden at soundbites and marketing. That's reality."

With this in mind, Cuban said that he was "open to the discussion to replace Biden and/or Harris," adding that "a large number of people who currently support [Trump] would walk away to a better alternative.

"But if that doesn't happen, I'm still voting for Biden, the ethical candidate who unquestionably stands by his oath and puts country over self interest."

The rhetoric on either side of the political divide has tempered somewhat in recent days, due in large part to the assassination attempt on Trump as he spoke at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on June 13.

Minutes into former President Trump's speech at the rally, a gunman opened fire, striking Trump in his right ear. He was surrounded by Secret Service agents and led from the stage after defiantly raising his hand in a clenched fist.

One rally attendee was killed, and two others were critically injured, according to the Secret Service. The gunman was fatally shot by the Secret Service at the scene.

The Trump Factor

While Trump has since gone on to be officially named as the GOP nominee at this week's Republican National Convention, he has not received a poll boost in the first presidential election survey conducted since the harrowing shooting.

The poll, conducted by Morning Consult of 2,045 registered voters on July 15, reveals that Trump is leading Biden by just 1 percentage point with 46 percent, compared to the president's 45 percent. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points.

The findings also reveal that Trump's lead has narrowed slightly since the firm's previous survey, conducted between July 12 and 14, which put Trump 2 percentage points ahead, with 44 percent to Biden's 42 percent.

In the days since the shooting, Cuban has agreed with social media comments that wishing Trump well in the light of the incident is not a partisan, but a human approach. However, he continues to share critiques of the one-time real estate mogul when it comes to his election moves.

Following Trump's announcement that JD Vance would be his vice presidential running mate, a post was shared on X surmising that the choice shows the GOP is "looking to make an appeal to anti-woke Silicon Valley or finance types to fill the void left by the Republican Party's competency crisis."

Disagreeing, Cuban wrote that Trump "won't take the bait. But he is smart enough to take their money and influence in [Silicon Valley] circles, while offering a policy here and there as bread crumbs. Bottom line, DJT will eat them up and spit them out."

While Cuban is backing Biden, he's not been unwilling to criticize the president on occasion. During Biden's 2020 campaign run, Cuban described Biden as "the right choice for business." However, he also accused Biden of being "too silent" during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In July 2015, Cuban praised Trump on his CyberDust app, calling him "probably the best thing to happen to politics in a long, long time." However, by the time Trump had secured the GOP nomination in 2016, Cuban's stance had shifted significantly. He became a vocal critic of Trump, even offering $10 million for a four-hour interview where Trump would answer questions about his policies.

His shift is perhaps summed up in a June 17 X post. When asked by an X user what it was about Trump that he "can't stand," Cuban explained: "I don't hate the guy. Just don't want him to be President."