John Legend: Forget the poor and hungry, give politicians more money

Singer John Legend had a hit with his song "Ordinary People," but in real life he doesn't seem like much of a fan of the hoi polloi.

Legend got in tweet off with billionaire investor Mark Cuban on Thursday night after the singer suggested people donate money to two Senate run-off races in Georgia instead of local food banks that serve the poor and hungry.

The race between Republican Sen. Kelly Loeffler and Democratic challenger Raphael Warnock is set to go into a runoff Jan. 5, as neither candidate topped 50% of the vote on Election Day.

The other Senate race, between Democrat Jon Ossoff and Republican Sen. David Perdue, has yet to be called. Georgia’s secretary of state said this week that it would also be going to a runoff on the same day.

The spat started after Cuban, the "Shark Tank" star and owner of the Dallas Mavericks basketball team, posted a compassionate message on Twitter.

"For those considering donating to Reps or Dems in the Georgia Senate run-offs, can you please re-consider and donate that money to your local foodbank and organizations that can help those without food or shelter? Lets put Americans in need above Politics," wrote the multi-billionaire.

That set off Legend, who replied: "I get that politics is annoying and contentious, but the bottom line is that the Senate flipping would be far more impactful than a food bank donation. We need massive stimulus and aid to individuals and small businesses. Government needs to do this. Charity isn’t sufficient."

Cuban fired back, telling Legend, "Let's go all the way. Stop donating to charity, give those $ to politicians because 1 party will solve all of our problems! Come on John. There is a point of diminishing returns on political ad spend, there are no diminished returns when it comes to feeding the hungry."

Then Legend doubled-down on his argument, tweeting: "Agree that there is a point of diminishing returns to political ad spending. So we should choose whether or not to donate with that in mind. But charity isn’t going to be sufficient to address all the suffering out there. We need big spending that only governments can do at scale."

Cuban then asked Legend if he thought "more money will increase the chances of winning" and whether "either party puts fundamental reform over gaining/retaining power." Legend answered, dinging Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell in the process.

"I believe the Democrats will do more to help the country recover. Period. I don’t think it’s even close. Mitch will be obstructionist and try to find ways to make Biden a one-term president, just as he promised (and failed) to do with Obama. But I don’t know if we’ve reached the point of diminishing returns for donating to the runoffs in Georgia. It’s hard to know. But I plan to err on the side of donating to help Ossoff and Warnock win. I hope it works. It will be better for the country." 

Added Legend: "There is clearly a difference between what a Mitch-led senate will do vs what a Schumer-led senate will do. As much as politics is annoying, this is very high stakes and hugely impactful to the lives of everyday Americans."

Eventually, Legend got Cuban's point, later tweeting, "That being said, I’ll be doing both."