Mark Cuban, John Legend Duel Over Buying Votes Or Food For Hungry

Alma L. Figueroa

Billionaire Mark Cuban and Grammy winner John Legend were involved in a public Twitter disagreement on Thursday after Cuban encouraged people to donate money to charity instead of the politicians involved in the Senate runoff races in Georgia.

“For those considering donating to Reps or Dems in the Georgia Senate run-offs, can you please re-consider and donate that money to your local foodbank and organizations that can help those without food or shelter?” he wrote. “Lets put Americans in need above Politics.”

Incumbent Republican Sen. David Perdue will take on his challenger Democrat Jon Ossoff at the same time GOP Sen. Kelly Loeffler will take on Democratic candidate Raphael Warnock in Georgia on Jan. 5. At least one victory by the GOP is required in the state for Republicans to keep the Senate majority.

Legend, however, shot back to Cuban’s suggestion, claiming that unseating the two Republican incumbents “would be far more impactful” than donating to charity, which “isn’t sufficient.”

“I get that politics is annoying and contentious, but the bottom line is that the Senate flipping would be far more impactful than a food bank donation,” Legend posted. “We need massive stimulus and aid to individuals and small businesses. Government needs to do this. Charity isn’t sufficient.”

“I’ll be doing both,” he added.

Cuban continued the argument, mocking Legend for thinking politicians will “solve all of our problems.”

“Let’s go all the way,” he said. “Stop donating to charity, give those $ to politicians because 1 party will solve all of our problems! Come on John. There is a point of diminishing returns on political ad spend, there are no diminished returns when it comes to feeding the hungry.”

https://twitter.com/mcuban/status/1326963069495488512?s=20

The lengthy argument continued as the “The Voice” judge, who has an estimated net worth of $75 million, reiterated his argument that charity “isn’t going to be sufficient to address all the suffering out there” and advocating for forcibly redistributing money through government instead of voluntary charity.

The NBA Dallas Mavericks owner, who has an estimated net worth of $4.2 billion, didn’t let Legend’s comments slide without edging in another tweet.

“Charity is often a band-aid. But a lot of people are suffering now. Do you really think more money will increase the chances of winning, or is it an unknown and you figure it can’t hurt ? And do you really think either party puts fundamental reform over gaining/retaining power ?” he questioned.

https://twitter.com/mcuban/status/1326964602882695169?s=20

Legend responded by claiming that Democrats, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, will participate in “big spending that only governments can do at scale,” and will be “hugely impactful to the lives of everyday Americans.

Cuban noted in his response that he didn’t think Schumer would be “any less power hungry than Mitch,” and that he voted for Biden for his ability to “work across the aisle.”

https://twitter.com/mcuban/status/1326967694122430464?s=20

Legend continued by claiming that Democrats “will do more to help the country recover” and accusing current Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of being “obstructionist” out to get former vice president Joe Biden.

“But i don’t know if we’ve reached the…point of diminishing returns for donating to the runoffs in Georgia. It’s hard to know. But I plan to err on the side of donating to help Ossoff and Warnock win. I hope it works. It will be better for the country,” Legend said.

After the debate seemed to conclude between the singer and NBA owner, Cuban continued to tweet, explaining that he doesn’t donate to political campaigns and that he believes “Change in this country, as I have said many times, needs to come from the bottom up.”

“We need to be in a position where people have equal say in how we are governed, and IMO a first step is ending the Political Party Duopoly,” he added.

https://twitter.com/mcuban/status/1327092861377130496?s=20

Both Legend and Cuban have been publicly political before. In June, Cuban refused to criticize the Chinese Communist Party’s takeover of Hong Kong. Legend and his wife, Chrissy Teigen, have also publicly criticized President Donald J. Trump and Republicans.

 “I think Trump is an embarrassment to the country. And his approval rating is terrible,” Legend said in 2017.


Jordan Boyd is a staff writer at The Federalist and co-producer of The Federalist Radio Hour. Her work has also been featured in The Daily Wire and Fox News. Jordan graduated from Baylor University where she majored in political science and minored in journalism. Follow her on Twitter @jordangdavidson.

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