Mark Cuban Fires Back Again at Dinesh D’Souza

On Thursday, right-wing commentator Dinesh D’Souza posted a four-second clip on X of vice presidential hopeful Tim Walz’s son, Gus, emotionally cheering for his father at the Democratic National Convention earlier that day.

The moment came as Gus watched his father officially accept the nomination as vice president with running mate current Vice President Kamala Harris, before a massive crowd at the United Center in Chicago. The high school senior greeted his father with an enthusiastic hug as his family left the stage.

Gus has a non-verbal learning disorder. D’Souza's caption on the video read: "The kid might have mental problems, but he's acting just like Tim Walz! So what's Walz's excuse?"

This was one of many tweets about Gus by other far-right pundits, who took turns online taking jabs at the family. Right-wing author Ann Coulter replied to the video, “Talk about weird,” in a now-deleted X post.

The original video was posted by X user, @leslibless. who has posted over 79,000 times and is labeled as a “firm conservative.” The user posted the video with the caption, “Walz’ kid is acting just like his dad! BIZARRE!”

The kid might have mental problems, but he’s acting just like Tim Walz! So what’s Walz’s excuse? pic.twitter.com/CktgFnO21n

— Dinesh D'Souza (@DineshDSouza) August 22, 2024

Mark Cuban took exception to D’Souza’s post, responding, “You’ve never had that feeling, have you? So proud of someone you love, that you can't hold back. Every emotion you can feel, comes pouring out. It's the best feeling in the world."

You’ve never had that feeling, have you?

So proud of someone you love, that you can’t hold back. Every emotion you can feel, comes pouring out.

It’s the best feeling in the world. https://t.co/hwBb62fO4d

— Mark Cuban (@mcuban) August 22, 2024

D’Souza was sentenced to five years of probation in 2014 after attempting to illegally contribute $10,000 to a U.S. Senate campaign, doubling the federal limit of $5,000 per individual set by the 2012 Election Act. D’Souza was pardoned by former President Trump in 2018 and remains a vocal supporter of his re-election campaign.

He replied back to Cuban, saying “I’m criticizing Walz, not the kid. If you read the post carefully, that should be pretty clear.”

I’m criticizing Walz, not the kid. If you read the post carefully, that should be pretty clear

— Dinesh D'Souza (@DineshDSouza) August 22, 2024

This isn’t the first time Cuban and D’Souza have clashed on X. In 2020, Cuban commended the NBA for being at the forefront of social politics as the league returned to play after COVID-19 and civil protests. D’Souza replied with a comment about Cuban’s grammar, and indirectly called him illiterate.

Only people who can’t write proper English capitalize words like Right, Just and Fair. We should not trust such illiterates to inform us about the retrospective verdicts of history https://t.co/yO9FQBxyk9

— Dinesh D'Souza (@DineshDSouza) August 29, 2020

"Only people who can’t write proper English capitalize words like Right, Just and Fair. We should not trust such illiterates to inform us about the retrospective verdicts of history," D'Souza wrote.

Earlier this year, the two had a keyboard sparring match after D’Souza tagged Cuban in a post targeting a homeless transgender man named Max.

Hey @mcuban if you’re looking to diversify your corporate workforce—“diversity is our greatest strength”and all that—you might consider calling this person. You can spend the first few weeks learning how to address him pic.twitter.com/tH7yPR5aBJ

— Dinesh D'Souza (@DineshDSouza) March 21, 2024

Cuban replied with a long message showing more compassion for Max’s living situation and relationship with his employer, prompting D’Souza to fire back.

In short, you won’t hire him because you know he would be a pain to work with and probably sue your company for misgendering him. This is the point I was really making—that your position on diversity is all talk! You’re in it for the virtue signaling. Thanks for confirming

— Dinesh D'Souza (@DineshDSouza) March 21, 2024

The two exchanged barbs again just a few hours later, with D’Souza labeling Max’s complaints as “whiner mentality."

I came to the US from India at the age of 17 with $500 in my pocket. My objection is not to the anguish of starting at the bottom but rather to the WHINER MENTALITY which revels in victimization and turns it into a strategy of intimidation. Who wants to hire someone like that?

— Dinesh D'Souza (@DineshDSouza) March 22, 2024

Cuban fired the last shot, pointing at Trump while he was at it.

What a perfect description of the person you want to vote in as President https://t.co/PpN7UjU7ZQ

— Mark Cuban (@mcuban) March 22, 2024

Despite online arguments, Cuban’s long-teased political candidacy seems to be on hold for now as the beginning stages of his Dallas casino district begin to take shape. As for D’Souza, his most recent book, 2,000 Mules, presents a conspiratorial theory on election fraud in the 2020 presidential election, and he hosts a daily eponymous podcast that recently reviewed the Democratic National Convention. Tim Walz's son Gus continues to garner support online from public figures such as actress Mia Farrow and Sen. Amy Klobuchar.