Democratic presidential candidate Julian Castro made a case on Sunday against former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz launching an independent bid for the White House that could play spoiler for Democrats in 2020.
“Obviously, if he runs, it’s going to make an impression on the race,” Castro said during an interview on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “I have a concern that, if he did run, that, essentially, it would provide Donald Trump with his best hope of getting re-elected.”
Castro said this is because President Trump seems to have a “ceiling” of support regardless of which Democratic contender is polled against him.
“So his only hope, if things stayed the same — and that’s a big if — is essentially to get somebody else, a third party, to siphon off those votes. And I don’t think that that would be in the best interest of our country,” he said. “We need new leadership. And so, you know, I would suggest to Mr. Schultz to truly think about the negative impact that that might make.”
[New: Trump: Ex-Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz ‘doesn’t have the guts to run for president’]
Schultz, the former Starbucks executive and ex-owner of the Seattle SuperSonics NBA franchise, is expected to announce Sunday during a pre-recorded CBS News “60 Minutes” interview that he’s considering an independent campaign for the Oval Office. In recent months, speculation has risen about Schultz’s plans as he prepares to embark on a book tour starting this week to promote his memoir, “From the Ground Up: A Journey to Reimagine the Promise of America” ahead of its release on Jan. 28. He also hired some high-profile political consultants, including Steve Schmidt, who was a vice chairman at public relations firm Edelman and manager of Republican Sen. John McCain’s 2008 presidential campaign.
“We’re living at a most fragile time,” Schultz told the outlet, according to a transcript excerpt. “Not only the fact that this president is not qualified to be the president, but the fact that both parties are consistently not doing what’s necessary on behalf of the American people and are engaged, every single day, in revenge politics.”
Castro, who previously served as Obama-era housing secretary and mayor of San Antonio, also voiced his support of rolling back tax cuts introduced by Republicans benefiting corporations and “the super wealthy,” as well as increasing the top marginal tax rate.
“I have said very clearly that I believe that it’s worth it. I believe that, in this nation, the wealthiest nation on Earth, there is no reason that anybody should go without healthcare when they need it,” Castro told CNN. “And during the course of this campaign, I look forward to putting forth a plan on how we’d pay for that, because I do think that Americans deserve to know from candidates for president how they are going to do that.”
Castro is one of a handful of Democrats who have already announced their campaign for the party’s nomination. That group also includes Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Kamala Harris of California, and Kirsten Gillibrand of New York.
