• Mark Cuban criticizes Donald Trump's proposal to impose fresh tariffs on Chinese goods, arguing it would hurt American consumers.
• Elon Musk, who has donated to Trump-aligned groups, joins Trump on the campaign trail.
• China's economy grows at its slowest pace since early 2023, despite beating forecasts last month.
• Cuban's support for Kamala Harris is significant, founding groups like Venture Capitalists for Kamala and Business Leaders for Harris.

In a recent political development, 'Shark Tank' fame and billionaire Mark Cuban has publicly criticized fellow billionaire and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump's proposal to impose fresh tariffs on most Chinese goods.

Cuban, who appeared alongside Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris in Wisconsin, argued that it would be the American consumers who would bear the brunt of these tariffs, not the Chinese.

Cuban's criticism of Trump's tariff proposal was not isolated. He was joined on the campaign trail by Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who was in Pennsylvania mobilizing Trump voters ahead of Election Day on November 5. However, Musk's political alignment differs significantly from Cuban's, as he has donated nearly $75 million to Trump-aligned groups, while Cuban is not a political donor.

Trump's plan to impose fresh tariffs on up to 60% of goods from China in a bid to boost U.S. manufacturing was labeled a crazy notion by Cuban. He argued that this move would punish consumers who would end up paying the bill.

Billionaires' Influence on the 2024 Election

Cuban's criticism extended to Trump's understanding of tariffs, stating, This man has so little understanding of tariffs, he thinks that China pays for that. This is the same guy who also thought that Mexico would pay for the wall.

Trump, on the other hand, has maintained that his trade policies, which call for pricey tariffs on goods not only from rivals such as China but allies such as the European Union, would revitalize American manufacturing and yield enough revenue to ease concerns about a ballooning deficit.

In the midst of this political discourse, China's economy grew at the slowest pace since early 2023 in the third quarter. Despite consumption and factory output figures beating forecasts last month, a tumbling property sector remains a major challenge for Beijing as it races to revitalize growth.

The world's second-largest economy grew 4.6% in July-September, official data showed, a touch above a 4.5% forecast in a Reuters poll but below the 4.7% pace in the second quarter.

Bruce Pang, Chief Economist at JLL, commented, China's Q3 2024 data is not a turn-up for the books. The performance aligns with market expectations, given the weak domestic demand, a still struggling housing market, and slowing export growth.

Political Alignments and Campaign Strategies

In the political arena, Cuban's support for Kamala Harris has been significant. He has been an emissary to the business world, helping found a group called Venture Capitalists for Kamala, which has almost 900 signatories, as well as Business Leaders for Harris. Cuban's voice and persona are considered more valuable than his money by Harris allies.

In contrast, Trump's campaign has been described as the most vicious, despicable, lie-filled campaign ever seen by Republican strategist Sarah Longwell. She compared it to Trump's significantly indecent campaigns in 2016 and 2020.

In the midst of these political developments, the US East Coast and Gulf Coast ports began reopening late on Thursday after dockworkers and port operators reached a wage deal to settle the industry's biggest work stoppage in nearly half a century. However, clearing the cargo backlog will take time.