You've never heard me talk about politics all that much, and

The words of Mark Cuban — “You’ve never heard me talk about politics all that much, and it’s just — I can’t think of anybody more dangerous as president than Donald Trump. I can’t think of anything worse than with him not having a clue. I mean, could you imagine somebody who doesn’t read and doesn’t learn trying to deal with the day-to-day challenges of that job?” — ring as both warning and lament. Here is a voice, not often raised in the realm of governance, compelled by conscience to speak. He reminds us that leadership without knowledge is like a ship without a compass, drifting blind into storms that demand wisdom and preparation.

The heart of his words rests on the sacred necessity of learning. To rule without study, to lead without reflection, is to embrace folly. For the burdens of high office are vast: war and peace, life and death, justice and injustice. Without the discipline to read, to listen, to grow, the leader becomes captive to pride and impulse, and his people suffer the cost. Cuban’s voice is less about party and more about principle: the dangerous emptiness of power held without wisdom.

History gives us sharp lessons of this truth. In the fall of Rome, emperors who loved spectacle more than governance — Nero with his theater, Commodus with his gladiatorial games — led the empire closer to ruin. They scorned the toil of study and the counsel of wise men, and so their reigns were marked by chaos and decline. Contrast them with Marcus Aurelius, who through constant reading and reflection sought to be just and measured, proving that learning is the lifeblood of enduring leadership.

Cuban’s warning also unveils a deeper truth: politics is not entertainment, nor is it a game of ego. It is stewardship of nations, guardianship of futures. To treat it lightly, to entrust it to one who refuses knowledge, is to gamble with the lives of millions. The president’s task is not only to decide, but to discern — and discernment cannot be born from ignorance.

Let future generations hold fast to this wisdom: power without learning is peril, and authority without humility is ruin. Those who would lead must be readers, listeners, students of history and of people. For the mightiest throne is fragile if it rests on arrogance, but secure if built on knowledge. Cuban’s words, born of concern, stand as a timeless reminder that the safety of a people depends not on wealth or pride, but on the leader’s devotion to truth, wisdom, and growth.