Mark Cuban Alleges Republicans Tried to Buy Donald Trump Out of Presidential Race

Mark Cuban says Republicans offered Donald Trump money to drop out of the presidential race.

Mark Cuban
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Mark Cuban on 'Late Show with Stephen Colbert.'

Mark Cuban

Dallas Mavericks owner, Shark Tank star, and Hillary Clinton supporter Mark Cuban said some unnamed Republicans offered Donald Trump money to quit the election. Cuban alleged the “buyout” was proposed to Trump after the Democratic National Convention, when the GOP candidate was under heavy fire for disrespecting Gold Star family Khizr and Ghazala Khan.

Cuban made the comments Friday on Clinton’s campaign plane on a flight to a Detroit rally after appearing with Clinton in his hometown of Pittsburgh. While taking questions from reporters, Cuban responded to a New York Times reporter’s joke that the Koch brothers could’ve “bribed” Trump to drop out of the race. “They tried,” Cuban said. When the reporter asked if they did, Cuban confirmed, adding, “Didn’t offer him enough.”

Chief communications and marketing officer at Koch Industries Steve Lombardo denied Cuban’s comments, tellingBusiness Insider: "That is simply not correct. I really don't have anything more to add to that other than it is incorrect."

Buzzfeed Newsreported that Cuban later clarified his comments over email, saying he didn’t mean the Koch brothers specifically. Cuban said “an offer was made to buy him [Trump] out of the election,” adding that the offer “got to Trump.” Cuban didn’t say who made Trump the offer. When asked how he found out about the alleged offer, Cuban said he “discussed it with someone who was trying to put it all together.”

“The response was that it wasn’t enough and to wait… I presume to see how he was doing in the race,” he said. “There was no follow up from there.”

The Mavs owner said the offer was not a bribe: “It was discussed as a buyout. What amount would get him to drop out of the race. Nothing under the table or hidden. That he would decide to drop out and would be given an above-the-table deal of some sort.”

In his speech Friday, Cuban said he believed Trump would take a $20 billion bribe from a foreign country to act against the U.S.

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