Susie Wiles, senior campaign adviser to Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, led a parade of women who rebuked Mark Cuban on Thursday, hours after the billionaire businessman asserted that Trump never surrounds himself with "strong, intelligent women."
Cuban's comments on ABC's "The View" stirred up Wiles; House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y.; and South Dakota Republican Gov. Kristi Noem among others, including Trump himself.
"I'm told @mcuban needs help identifying the strong and intelligent women surrounding Pres. Trump. Well, here we are! I've been proud to lead this campaign," Wiles said in a post on X, her first on the platform since February 2023.
Cuban, a surrogate for Democrat nominee Kamala Harris, told "The View" that Trump is intimidated by strong, intelligent women. Cuban was answering a question about why former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, the final candidate to drop out of the Republican primary, isn't campaigning with Trump.
"Donald Trump, you never see him around strong, intelligent women ever," Cuban said on the show. "It's just that simple. They're intimidating to him. He doesn't like to be challenged by them and, you know, Nikki Haley will call him on his nonsense with reproductive rights, and how he sees and treats and talks about women. I mean, he just can't have her around. It wouldn't work."
Stefanik called Cuban a "sexist disgrace."
"I'm proud to be the highest-ranking woman in the United States Congress. When I ran, I was the youngest woman ever elected. I'm the most senior woman on the House Arms Services Committee, the House Intelligence Committee and I proudly am voting and endorse President Trump," Stefanik said in a video posted on X.
Trump called Cuban "a really dumb guy, who thinks he's hot stuff but he's absolutely nothing."
"Actually, he is very wrong, I surround myself with the strongest of women – With the understanding that ALL women are great, whether strong or not strong," Trump said in a post on X. "[H]e's a very insecure guy, and a MAJOR LOSER, always has been and always will be! Nobody likes him, nobody respects him, and he's unattractive both inside and out! He should go back to talk about the person he was forced to support, because I didn't want it, Lyin' Kamala Harris."
Cuban partly walked back his comments in a post on X, saying he's "happy to clarify" that Trump has worked with "strong, intelligent women" and that many of the sort will vote for him.
"I know many strong, intelligent women voting for Trump. Including in my extended family. I'm certainly not saying female voters are not smart, strong and intelligent," he wrote.
"I stand by my opinion that he does not like being challenged publicly," Cuban added.
"Game on, buddy," Noem said in her video post on X. "I'll take you on any day in a debate or maybe even arm wrestling."
Mark Swanson ✉
Mark Swanson, a Newsmax writer and editor, has nearly three decades of experience covering news, culture and politics.
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