Starbucks Founder Howard Schultz announced Monday that he will step down as Executive Chairman of the company he founded 36 years ago. During his tenure, Starbucks has shown itself to be very left politically. Schultz is now setting himself up to run for president in 2020, and that could be trouble for President Trump.
In his national television interviews this morning, Schultz presented himself as a moderate. He is concerned about the deficit, education, and our “standing in the world.” Using very coy responses, he would not confirm or deny a presidential run. However, he is a mega-wealthy political activist, is now writing a book, and plans to pursue public service, which are telltale signs of someone who plans to run for President in 2020 – as an independent!
The Democratic Party has moved toward socialism and likely will nominate a far-left candidate in the mode of Bernie Sanders or Elizabeth Warren as their nominee. Based on his new “moderate” statements, Schultz is clearly not running for that nomination. And as a longtime Democrat already talking negatively about the tax cuts, he is not running as a Republican either.
An independent candidacy as an extremely wealthy self-funded “mainstream” businessman could become a real problem for President Trump, which I think is Schultz’s goal. He is looking to syphon off just enough votes in places like Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Florida to swing those states to the Democrats. The mainstream media will be pumping his candidacy as the alternative to Trump from the moment Schultz announces, hoping for this exact outcome. I think President Trump’s team should take the possibility of Schultz running seriously and begin to plan for this type of independent candidate – a wealthy Democrat plant pretending to be the “voice of reason” in 2020.
Hal Lambert is the founder of Point Bridge Capital, which launched the first-ever Republican stock index: MAGA. He is a frequent guest on Fox News, CNBC, and Fox Business. Learn more at Point Bridge Capital and follow Hal on Twitter at @MAGAINDEX