Billionaire “Shark Tank” star Mark Cuban — a vocal critic of President Donald Trump — confirmed Thursday that he turned down an offer to be considered as Kamala Harris’ running mate in the 2024 presidential election.
The gig eventually went to Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D).
Cuban told The Bulwark’s Tim Miller that he declined a request from Harris’ campaign to submit vetting papers because he felt the list of possible contenders would be too long.
The minority owner of the Dallas Mavericks ended up campaigning and advising then-Vice President Harris before her defeat to now-President Donald Trump.
Miller asked why he didn’t go all in.
Cuban said he’s “not very good as the No. 2 person.”
“The last thing we need is me telling Kamala, you know, the president, that, ‘No, that’s a dumb idea.’ Right?” he explained, adding: “And I’m not real good at the shaking hands and kissing babies.”
Had Cuban become the vice presidential candidate, he acknowledged that “obviously it would have been different.”
“My personality is completely different than Tim’s. My experiences, my backgrounds are completely different,” he said. “I think I’ve cut through the shit more directly. I’m not a politician and so it would have been different.”
But also, he claimed, “it would have been awful” and Harris “would have fired me within six days.”