Howard Schultz, who announced this week he is stepping down as CEO of Starbucks, said Tuesday that he hasn’t completely ruled out a White House run, citing his main concerns with the current administration as “the lack of dignity, lack of respect.”
“There’s a lot of things I can do as a private citizen other than run for the presidency of the United States,” Schultz said in an interview with CNBC. “Let’s just see what happens.”
Referring to his Monday announcement about stepping down, Schultz said that he had been planning to leave for over a year, but that his resignation was delayed after the controversial arrest of two black men at a Philadelphia Starbucks. He said he felt obligated to meet with the men and only then felt he could step away.
Defining the character of his company, Schultz said he was dedicated to giving opportunities to veterans, refugees, and expanded health benefits and college tuition assistance to workers.
Schultz frequently uses his platform to speak about the role companies must play to be socially responsible in a changing society.
“It speaks to the fact that rules of engagement for a public company and CEO are different today,” he said. “In large part because it has been so polarized.”
Schultz attributed bad ideological leadership as the root cause of the dysfunction and polarization in government, continuing his criticisms against the president. He also condemned Democrats, however, saying they were “overpromising on programs that aren’t fiscally responsible.”
[Starbucks CEO: Trump talk partially to blame for racial divide in America]
