Mark Cuban says Trump 'absolutely' has 'fascist tendencies'

Billionaire entrepreneur and television personality Mark Cuban said former President Donald Trump “absolutely” has “fascist tendencies.”

“Do I think Donald Trump has fascist tendencies? Absolutely. Positive,” Cuban said. “I believe that Donald Trump is a threat.”

“I mean, just look at January 6th,” Cuban added. “To have someone take charge and shout, 'Hang Mike Pence!' And you don't care, there's nothing you wouldn't do.

Cuban, an independent who supports Vice President Kamala Harris, sat down with Jonathan Karl, co-host of ABC News' “This Week,” in between his campaign stops around the country and campaigned for Harris.

Despite his warnings about a second Trump term, Cuban called himself an “American First” and said he would do whatever he could to help the country regardless of who was president.

“You hear the stories about people saying, 'I'm going to leave the country,' and so on,” Cuban said. “If Trump wins, I mean, I’m not going anywhere, but I’m an American first and foremost. I will do everything I can to help this country in any way I can. And I don’t care who is president.”

After Trump's former chief of staff John Kelly told the New York Times that Trump met the definition of a fascist, Harris said on CNN that she also considered him a fascist. Trump has called Harris a fascist in the past. Asked for his reaction, Cuban said this wasn't a “normal” campaign.

“In a normal world, the two parties would come together and say, ‘Let’s just stop this name-calling, shall we? Let's just focus on the issues.' “But this is not a normal world. Donald Trump is not a normal candidate,” Cuban said. “And I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to call Donald Trump a fascist.”

Cuban said it is “troubling” that half of the country continues to support Trump, and he believes that is because people want a change from President Joe Biden, who he said is not a leader.

“If you don't have strong leadership and, you know, Joe Biden has done a lot of great things, I think, you know, the economy and a lot of other things can, you know, the CHIPS Act, there are so many great things. “Things he did. But he’s not a leader,” Cuban said. “I think Kamala is a leader.”

Cuban supported Nikki Haley during the Republican primary. Had she won the nomination, he said, he might have voted for her and not Biden — but not Harris, who he said “knows how to be a CEO.”

As an entrepreneur, Cuban argued during the election campaign that Harris would be better for the economy than Trump.

“The economy is in excellent shape. That doesn't mean that every single person in this country experiences all the goodness of the economy. But it was the same thing under the Trump administration. You know, the stock market is at a record high. The GDP.” “Real wages are now higher than inflation,” Cuban said. “Donald Trump says things that aren’t true. And you know the old saying: If you repeat a lie, enough people will start to believe it.”

In 2015, Cuban supported Trump's first presidential bid in its early stages, once calling him “the best thing to happen to politics” in recent history. But before the election he changed course and decided to support Hillary Clinton.

“I didn’t think he had a chance of winning. But I thought, 'This is great. You know, he's not a traditional politician,' and I thought that was a net win. I was wrong,” Cuban said when recalled.

Cuban has publicly weighed his own presidential runs in the past, but told Karl that it was no longer an option.

“No chance,” Cuban said. “I have no interest – no interest in being a politician of any kind. I have no interest in serving for Kamala Harris or anyone in the Cabinet,” Cuban said. “I like being a disruptor as an entrepreneur. So that’s my focus.”