Whoopi Goldberg on Tuesday asked why Howard Schultz, a life-long Democrat, would risk giving President Trump a boost in 2020 by running as an independent candidate who could steal away votes from the Democratic Party’s nominee.
“My big problem is I want people to stand up for what they believe in, and I think you’re saying to people, ‘I don’t think you’ll hear me unless I speak to you as an independent,'” Goldberg said to Schultz during his appearance on ABC’s “The View.” “I think if you believe in what you believe in then stand up for that as a Democrat and then change the party if you feel like that as opposed to go elsewhere.”
[Related: Democrats threaten Starbucks boycott until former CEO Howard Schultz abandons 2020]
Schultz, who until recently was Starbucks CEO and executive chairman, is conducting a media blitz since he formally announced Sunday he was “seriously considering” a self-funded, third-party bid ahead of the 2020 election, an announcement that coincided with a national book tour to promote his latest memoir.
In response to Goldberg’s question, Schultz asked the panel and the studio audience whether they thought the political system was “working well on behalf of the American people.” Meghan McCain, another host, pressed Schultz, a billionaire, saying her problem with politics was “the influence of money.”
“But you can’t buy the presidency. The American people are going to decide,” Schultz replied.
Schultz’s announcement has made Democrats nervous because some members of the party fear the businessman may split the vote and effectively return Trump to the White House should he decide to run. At a book tour stop in Manhattan on Monday night, Schultz said he couldn’t contemplate campaigning for the Democratic presidential nomination because the party had moved too far to the Left for him on certain tax and spending initiatives. He also declined to answer whether he would drop out of a hypothetical race should polls indicate Trump was likely to win a second term.
“I can’t answer that question today, but I’m certainly not going to do anything to put Donald Trump back in the Oval Office,” he said.
