Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban criticized Donald Trump's business acumen. | Getty Mark Cuban slams Trump: ‘He puts his name on products that make no sense’

The skill set that makes a businessman successful are “absolutely” the same qualities that would carry over into the White House, according to Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, who questioned Donald Trump’s business chops Monday.

“Absolutely. You have to be knowledgeable. You have to be prepared. You have to be willing to learn. You have to have a thirst for knowledge,” Cuban told MSNBC’s Steve Kornacki. “So that skill set — what makes a great businessperson — definitely would fit as a president. The question is, is Donald that kind of businessperson? I don’t think he is.”


The NBA owner said he personally likes Trump, calling him “amazing” and a real-estate savant. “But he hasn’t really demonstrated that ability in other business ventures. He puts his name on products that make no sense,” Cuban said. “You know, the products he puts his name on suggest that he just needed the money: you know, steaks, suits, water, university, you name it. There’s no rhyme or reason there.”

Cuban recently told the Washington Post that a group of conservatives approached him about a possible third-party bid for president. He described it Monday as more a question gauging his interest than a pitch for him to run but ultimately declined.

“The response was very quick and to the point,” Cuban said. “You know, there’s not enough time and it just wouldn’t work. I think they looked at me more because possibly I could afford to fund it, that obviously it was an interesting concept to me but there’s no real reality to it. It just wouldn’t work.”

Last summer after Trump announced his candidacy, Cuban extolled his fellow businessman as “probably the best thing to happen in politics in a long, long time.” And he stood by his comments Monday, insisting his prediction was correct.

“He really did change politics, but as some point, as a candidate, you have to learn and you have to evolve,” he said. “If we go back and look at the candidate then, he was new to politics, he hadn’t really said any positions, but you would hope that he would evolve.”

But he hasn’t, Cuban said. “He just hasn’t. He hasn’t learned, and that’s a real problem,” Cuban continued. “As I said before, it’s become a candidacy about nothing, the ‘Seinfeld’ candidacy, and that’s the problem. That’s what changed.”

Cuban criticized Trump for not having shown a better understanding of policy nearly a year into his campaign but acknowledged that that likely isn’t something his supporters want to see.

As for who would he vote for in November if it’s between Trump and Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton, Cuban — who described himself as someone who thinks for himself rather than identifying with any political party — demurred.

“It’s too early. I don’t have to decide today,” Cuban said. “I have until November. You know, look, I give Donald credit because he’s taken a leadership stance for his followers. We’re no longer in an era of partisan politics. We’re in tribal politics.”

Trump supporters want the billionaire to throw punches and take out traditional candidates and the traditional system, Cuban said, and he deserves credit for leading that movement.

“The question is: Is that a big enough group?” Cuban said. “On Hillary’s side, she’s kind of evolved to the left and really hasn’t a shown a personality or an ability to fight back at Donald. So I want to see more of that from her. We have time. We’ll see if Donald really digs into the issues, if he has policy, if he puts detail behind those policies, and we’ll see if Hillary comes a litter further center with some of her, in particular, financial platforms and see where that goes.”

One key difference Cuban cited between Trump and Clinton is that the Trump has shown no ability to learn and understand the issues, while Clinton has released detailed policies.

Though Cuban declined to run for president in 2016, he hasn’t completely ruled out the option at some point, and he credited Trump for blazing a path for outsiders to mount campaigns. He just hopes that path doesn’t go up in smokes.

“Without question, I think he did open a door,” Cuban said. “I think he set a path for entrepreneurs, for business people, but I hope he just doesn’t shut it through his actions.”