Shark Tank star Mark Cuban slammed the White House and politicians for attending Christmas parties this week, just as the coronavirus pandemic continues to worsen. He called it “shameful” and “stomach-turning” to see them party while there is no new stimulus relief plan to help the average American in place. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has also advised Americans to avoid large gatherings, but President Donald Trump has continued to host holiday parties in Washington, D.C.
“It’s shameful. It’s stomach-turning,” Cuban told TMZ Thursday. “Look, no one is against celebrating Christmas and the holidays, more power to them. But the timing, the circumstances… Do your jobs if you want to get stimulus to the people. We need it right now.” Cuban, who owns the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks, noted there are food lines in Dallas miles long. His charities in Dallas are doing what they can, but Cuban said more help is needed.
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“Every city in this country, people are going hungry,” Cuban said. “Every single food bank is running out of food and has lines miles long. People are looking for any help they can get and none of our politicians are anywhere to be found.” Cuban expressed frustration that not enough House members and Senators are speaking up, and instead are letting party leaders speak for them. “If you have people who are hungry in your district, why are you not speaking up?” Cuban asked. “You are just as complicit as Mitch McConnell and Nancy Pelosi and Donald Trump and Steven Mnuchin.”
Cuban has been a vocal advocate for sending Americans direct stimulus checks and floated several ideas himself on social media throughout the pandemic. This week, he told CNBC he would rather see the government send out direct payments instead of providing funding to financial assistance programs. “I think government programs designed to meet specific issues are less efficient,” Cuban explained. “My preference is and has been that we take those funds and others across the spectrum of approved programs and write those checks to the eligible population.”
As for Trump’s White House parties, the president defended them during a press briefing on Wednesday. One reporter asked Trump why he was “modeling a different behavior” than what the CDC was advising. “They’re Christmas parties, and, frankly, we’ve reduced the number very substantially, as you know,” Trump said, reports ABC News. “I see a lot of people at the parties wearing masks, and I would say that I look out at the audience at those parties, and we have a lot of people wearing masks, and I think that’s a good thing.”
More than 200 guests gathered at the White House for the annual Hanukkah celebration on Wednesday, notes The Guardian. Most attendees did wear masks, but some social media posts showed Trump himself not wearing one. Trump also hosted guests for the annual congressional ball Thursday night. Meanwhile, according to Johns Hopkins University data, the number of coronavirus cases nationwide reached 15.7 million as of Friday evening.
