- President Donald Trump’s planned tariffs roiled markets and spooked investors.
- “Elections have consequences,” Mark Cuban said hours before Trump paused his tariffs for 90 days.
- Cuban endorsed Trump’s rival, Vice President Kamala Harris, in last year’s presidential election.
Mark Cuban has a message for America amid President Donald Trump’s tariff turmoil.
“Elections have consequences,” Cuban wrote in a post on Bluesky on Wednesday morning. Cuban’s post came before Trump said he would pause his reciprocal tariffs on over 180 countries for 90 days.
Cuban also criticized Trump’s tariffs hours before the rollback.
“What some people aren’t factoring into their analysis is the reality that companies were buying tons of inventory to beat the tariffs,” Cuban wrote on Bluesky.
“That’s cash taken from being able to invest or hire,” Cuban wrote, adding that the tariffs probably resulted in jobs being cut to save costs.
The "Shark Tank" business mogul has been commenting on Trump's tariffs over the last weeks.
Shortly after Trump had announced his planned tariffs, Cuban told his followers on Bluesky that people should "buy lots of consumables now."
"Even if it's made in the USA, they will jack up the price and blame it on tariffs," Cuban wrote.
On Saturday, Cuban said the impact of Trump's tariffs on the economy could be worse than the 2008 global financial crisis.
"If the new tariffs stay in place for multiple years, and are enforced and inflationary, and DOGE continues to cut and fire, we will be in a far worse situation than 2008," Cuban wrote on Bluesky.
Cuban also published, then deleted, a post on X on Sunday night in which he told investors not to sell their stocks amid the market turmoil.
He then walked back the advice, saying: "I decided to delete the last post where I gave my thoughts on the market. As some other rightfully mentioned, no one knows. You have to look at your own circumstances and talk to those whose advice you value."
Trump announced on April 2 that he would impose sweeping tariffs on 185 countries. The measures, which Trump has branded as his "Liberation Day" tariffs, will hit both America's rivals and major allies in Europe and Asia.
A baseline rate of 10% went into effect on April 5, while a higher set of tariff rates that varied by country took effect on Wednesday.
Trump's tariffs had a devastating effect on the markets, spooking investors and triggering a massive sell-off. Asia markets surged Thursday after Trump announced that he was pausing the higher set of tariffs for 90 days, though the 10% baseline rate would remain.
The pause, however, does not apply to China. China was initially slapped with a 34% tariff, but this was later raised by an additional 50% on Tuesday. This is on top of the 20% tariff Trump imposed last month — bringing the total to 104%.
But those tariffs were raised again on Wednesday, when Trump said he was raising his tariffs on China to 125%. China had raised its tariffs on US goods to 84% on Wednesday in response to the US's 104% tariffs as of Tuesday evening, ET.
"At some point, hopefully in the near future, China will realize that the days of ripping off the U.S.A., and other Countries, is no longer sustainable or acceptable," Trump wrote in a Truth Social post on Wednesday.
To be sure, Cuban has long been a critic of Trump and his tariffs. The billionaire endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris in last year's presidential election and called her a "pro-business" candidate.
In September, Cuban slammed Trump's call for a 200% tariff on John Deere if the agriculture equipment company moved its manufacturing to Mexico.
"This Lack of Understanding of Business is insane," Cuban wrote in an X post at the time, adding that such a move would only make Chinese products relatively cheaper to sell.
"Good way to destroy a legendary American company and increase costs to American buyers," Cuban added.
Cuban and the White House did not respond to requests for comment from Business Insider.