Ex Starbucks CEO for President

Ex Starbucks CEO for President

Ricardo Talbot, staff writer

Ex-Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz showed interest in running as a third party candidate in the 2020 election on Jan. 27 during an interview with 60 Minutes.

 

Schultz was born in New York on July 19, 1953. After he graduated from Northern Michigan University he became the director of retail and marketing for Starbucks. He later purchased and became the CEO of Starbucks. He recently stepped down in early June of 2018. Schultz chose to run as an independent party candidate even after claiming to be a “lifelong democrat” because he believes Democratic views have gone too far left. He also believes that Democrats are unrealistic and focus on promises they cannot keep.

 

After claiming to be a “lifelong democrat”, Schultz decided to run as an independent because of his view that the democratic party’s objectives have gone too far left.

 

Schultz is advocating for the middle ground of Democratic and Republican views. He believes that our borders need to be secured, but our current border policies are “inhumane”. He also believes that building bridges instead of walls with neighboring territories could help improve American trade. Schultz has no clear stance on gun control, but when he was head of Starbucks he prohibited any concealed carry in his store. Howard Schultz supported the legalization of gay marriage contributing to his progressive views.

 

Because Schultz is running with views that are primarily liberal, Democrats fear that he will take votes needed to beat Trump.

 

“By definition, Howard Schultz will split the anti-Trump vote if he runs as a third party candidate,” AP Government teacher Aaron Stiles said.

 

Schultz has accounted for these fears by clarifying a common misconception that a majority of the American public doesn’t realize that there are more independents than they think.

 

“People don’t realize 42% of the electorate self affiliates themselves as independents and that they have never had a legitimate choice to vote for what they believe in.” Howard Schultz said in an interview with Andrew Sorkin.

 

Some Democrats also believe Howard Schultz is splitting the votes on purpose in attempts to help Trump get re-elected. Schultz responded to this in a declaration of his contempt for Trump.

 

“Lifelong Democrats and Republicans will likely want to find a new home,” he said. “Nobody wants to see Donald Trump fired and leave office more than me.”

 

President Donald J. Trump went to Twitter to react to Howard Schultz’s interest in running for president tweeting, “Howard Schultz doesn’t have the “guts” to run for President!”

 

Even if Howard Schultz were to run as a Democrat, many don’t agree with his close ties to his businessman lifestyle.

 

“America needs to not field anymore candidates with ties to corporation, because if we gave them too much power the markets would run wild and people with no economic stake should have the shot at presidency,” sophomore Ian Cowley said.

 

Along with concerns about corporate connections, students expressed concern about a presidential candidate’s qualifications.

 

“If Howard Schultz runs as a third-party candidate, he has a small chance of being elected,” junior Veronica Guerra said. “I would rather have someone whose career path involved law or politics not business.”