The Democratic party is doing some soul-searching after their loss in the 2016 election, and President Donald Trump's non-traditional candidacy opens the door for a variety of newcomers in 2020. Mark Cuban has been one of Trump's most vocal opponents, and many would love nothing more than for him to go head-to-head with the Donald in the 2020 election.
While participating in a panel at the annual Sloan Sports Analytics Conference in Boston, Cuban was asked by Five Thirty Eight's Nate Silver about the prospect of running for the nation's highest office in 2020. He wouldn't commit one way or another, but he left the door open:
Cuban clarified in a follow-up comment that Trump's controversial presidency might spell doom for future outsider candidates, which doesn't lend hope to seeing him run in the future. But if his personal battle with Trump continues at this pace, there's no telling what he might do to stand between Trump and a second term in the Oval Office.
The relationship between Trump and Cuban has been erratic over the last couple years. Cuban made headlines in 2015 when he said he'd consider being Trump's VP if asked. Once Trump and Clinton were confirmed as primary winners midway through last year, Cuban said in an interview he'd consider accepting an offer to be either candidate's second-in-command. His rationale has been consistent, and Cuban claims to want to help the country regardless of party labels.
However his tone has shifted dramatically as of late. These days Cuban is actively beefing with President Trump, who claims the Mavericks' owner and Shark Tank host isn't smart enough to run for president. Cuban has responded by mocking the failure of Ivanka Trump's clothing line and digging up old email correspondences with Trump.
Would Cuban have a chance to beat Trump? Maybe. Recent surveys conducted by Public Policy Polling put Cuban just a single percentage point behind Trump in a head-to-head battle, despite 45 percent of respondents claiming they were unsure how to feel about him.
Cuban's potential candidacy will be questioned right up until the primaries begin in a few years, and he's already backed off his initial stance of there being "no possible way" he'd run. After last year's election, you can't really rule anything out.
