Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban became the latest tycoon to criticize Sen. Elizabeth Warren at the weekend, but he dared to make the ultimate attack on the progressive hero.
He compared her to President Trump.
In a series of tweets criticizing Ms. Warren’s socialized-medicine plan and accusing her of Trumpesque snake-oil peddling, Mr. Cuban noted that Ms. Warren is “filthy rich” and thus a hypocrite in her constant rhetorical bashing of the wealthy.
“The reality for @ewarren is that this is as much to divert attention from her income and net worth as anything else,” he wrote, noting that only Tom Steyer of the then-official candidates is wealthier.
The reality for @ewarren is that this is as much to divert attention from her income and net worth as anything else. Other than steyer she is the wealthiest of all the Dem Candidates. By far. https://t.co/IuW5pVo6Sd
— Mark Cuban (@mcuban) November 9, 2019
Mr. Cuban acknowledged that Ms. Warren “probably is the smartest of all the candidates,” but that makes her pie-in-the-sky promises even worse, Mr. Cuban said.
“Intellectually she knows she is misleading the public,” he explained.
While Mr. Cuban would be hit hard by Ms. Warren’s wealth tax, he said that wasn’t the point of criticizing her.
“I’m fine with paying more taxes. I’ve said it for years on http://blogmaverick.com. But the Senator is like every other candidate. She is selling shiny objects to divert attention from reality. Haven’t we had enough of that from @realDonaldTrump?” he said.
As for her personal wealth, Mr. Cuban noted that “according to her filings she made 900k last year which means her family earns more than 2x the amount needed to be a 1 percenter. She paid 25.5% of that in taxes which is less than” the 29.85% Mr. Cuban said he paid.
And it’s not just income … Ms. Warren has wealth, Mr. Cuban noted.
“Forbes says her net worth is north of $12m. That’s being rich. Filthy rich. I’m sure it’s richer than she ever imagined she would be,” he wrote.
While Mr. Cuban, a billionaire himself, congratulated her — “Good for her. She earned it” — he noted that “it puts her millions above the threshold for being part of the richest 1 percent by networth in our country.”
Mr. Cuban’s substantive criticisms of Ms. Warren’s proposal for “Medicare for All” included that a huge number of bills would need “to pass Congress in order for any of it to work. Is it realistic to think any of it will pass let alone all of it?”
He went on to note the difficulties and watering-downs Obamacare went through and added that “this is a far more contentious political environment than back then.”
• Victor Morton can be reached at vmorton@washingtontimes.com.
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