Former Starbucks Chairman and CEO Howard Schultz, who is launching a book tour this week, said he's "seriously thinking of running for president," as a centrist whose positioned outside the two-party system.
With the field of contenders to challenge President Donald Trump growing daily, the 65-year-old coffee impresario who turned a local Seattle chain into a global coffee behemoth, is weighing the idea of an independent bid, he told 60 Minutes, CBS's flagship news magazine.
The 60 Minutes interview is timed to the release of Schultz's book, "From the Ground Up," which weaves together parts of his personal biography and his vision for the country. The Brooklyn native — who's worth at least $3 billion, according to Bloomberg data, is still a relative political unknown. It is not clear where Schultz stands on a number of issues that are likely to be contentious on the campaign trail.
Speculation has swirled around Schultz's second act after Starbucks for at least two years, and the 60 Minutes interview sets the stage for what is shaping up to be a fierce battle for the White House. In an article published over the weekend by The Atlantic, Democratic insiders are said to be deeply concerned about a potential run for the presidency by Schultz, who are reportedly concerned that a third-party bid would siphon off Democratic votes, and ensure a re-election for Trump.
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Schultz will face fierce headwinds in putting together a national political operation that can be competitive, as he has started later in the game than most top contenders. As of November 2018, Schultz had not traveled to key early contest states Iowa and New Hampshire.
However, Schultz did assemble a crack public relations squad last year, including Steve Schmidt, a former vice chairman at public relations powerhouse Edelman who managed the late Republican Sen. John McCain's 2008 bid.
The former Starbucks chief's entrance into the race is likely to unsettle progressives, though, whom Schultz has criticized for having what he considers unrealistic goals. Schultz told CNBC last year that the "greatest threat domestically" was the national debt and said cutting entitlement spending was essential.
"The only way we're going to get out of that [debt] is we've got to grow the economy, in my view, 4 percent or greater. And then we have to go after entitlements," he said at the time.
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