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Mark Cuban rules out 2028 presidential run unless Trump seeks third term

Former Harris campaign surrogate and "Shark Tank" investor Mark Cuban declared he will not run for the presidency in the 2028 election unless President Trump attempts to run for a third term.

Former "Shark Tank" investor Mark Cuban declared on Friday he will not run for the presidency unless President Donald Trump tries to run for an unprecedented third term.

Since their disastrous defeat in the 2024 election, the Democratic Party has been struggling to find a new leader or ideological party line to rally around. Cuban, formerly a Harris campaign surrogate, is one of many political outsiders who have been mentioned as potential 2028 candidates.

But when Ben Smith asked Cuban about a run on the Semafor podcast, the billionaire rejected the idea.

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Mark Cuban warned that an attempt from Trump to run again would spur him to join the 2028 race. (Mark Cuban photo by Jeff Schear/Getty Images | Trump photo by  Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

"I'm not going to do it," Cuban replied. "I've said the only way I would do it is if Trump tried to run for a third term. Because then that's just changing everything, right? And that's a true threat."

While Trump has hinted that his vice president, J.D. Vance, is "probably favored" to be his successor, he has both teased and distanced himself from the idea of a third term.

"I got the highest vote in the history of Texas, a record that they say won't be beaten unless I run again," Trump said during an early August interview on CNBC's "Squawk Box."

Asked if he was going to run again, Trump responded, "No, probably not. Probably not." 

"But other than that, I'm not going to put my family through that, you know?" Cuban said, noting further that his three kids are between the ages of 15 and 21 and he would prefer to avoid the amount of "grief and abuse" that comes with running for president.

"When I'm 95 and taking - or 105 and taking my last breaths, right? I don't want to say, ‘Well, gee, I ran for president. Maybe won, maybe didn't,’" he said.

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Billionaire investor Mark Cuban served as a campaign surrogate for then-Vice President Kamala Harris during the 2024 election. (Andy Manis/Getty Images)

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When asked who he actually favors to run in 2028, Cuban suggested names like Scott Galloway, Jon Stewart and Texas state Rep. James Talarico.

"But in terms of traditional politicians that we’ve seen? Meh," he said, expressing distaste.

Fox News' Danielle Wallace contributed to this report.