Mark Cuban Compares Donald Trump, Small Businesses To Hammers And Nails: 'Do You Want To Be Underneath A Hammer?'

President Donald Trump‘s threat to put a 200% tariff on Deere & Company DE products has billionaire Mark Cuban riled up.

What Happened: On CNBC’s “Squawk Box,” Cuban debated CNBC host Joe Kernen who said there has not been a manufacturing boom since the Inflation Reduction Act was passed, citing the Institute of Supply Management.

According to Cuban, Trump’s tariffs won’t help.

Seventy-five percent of manufacturers have under 20 employees, Cuban says, stressing that Trump’s tariff threats will impact thousands of companies.

“Donald Trump is trying to come in with a hammer and say, you’re the nail, I’m going to hit you with a 200% tariff, John Deere. Kamala Harris is saying I’m going to give you incentives to manufacture more,” Cuban said. "Do you want to be underneath a hammer?"

See below.

"Donald Trump is trying to come in with a hammer and say, you're the nail, I'm going to hit you with a 200% tariff, John Deere. Kamala Harris is saying I'm going to give you incentives to manufacture more," says @mcuban. "Do you want to be underneath a hammer?" pic.twitter.com/CRmQp2OBMs

— Squawk Box (@SquawkCNBC) September 26, 2024

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Why It Matters: At an event in Pennsylvania, Trump recently said he would place a hefty tariff on John Deere products if the Moline, Illinois-based company shifts some production from the U.S. to Mexico.

“If you do that, we’re putting a 200% tariff on everything that you want to sell into the United States,” Trump said at a Pennsylvania event.

But John Deere and other American companies getting hit with higher tariffs while Chinese competitors get 10% to 20% tariffs will make the Chinese goods cheaper and drive out American manufacturing, Cuban added.

"It's not so easy,” Cuban said.

On X, Cuban said Trump's "lack of understanding” of business is “insane."

"Good way to destroy a legendary American company," Cuban tweeted.

This Lack of Understanding of Business is insane.

Put a 200% tariff on the American company moving some production to Mexico

But tariff Chinese manufacturers 10 or 20%, so that the Chinese products will be cheaper to sell in the US than the American company.

Good way to… https://t.co/c23eVGMSeB

— Mark Cuban (@mcuban) September 23, 2024

Cuban, who supports Harris’s presidential campaign, also brushed off concerns that supermarket gouging had anything to do with rising inflation. He and Kernan agreed that stimulus and supply constraints may have been contributing factors.

Price Action: Deere stock trades at $412.26 Thursday versus a 52-week trading range of $340.20 to $417.47. Deere stock is up 3% year-to-date in 2024.

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• Trump’s Tariff Threat Could Hit John Deere Stock: Pro-Trump Congress Member Faces Potential Losses

Image: Shutterstock