Former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz deleted a tweet that linked to a column smearing two Democratic senators running for president because, he said, he doesn’t “want to get into the mud with anybody.”
Schultz said he was oblivious that a column on PJMedia.com referred to Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., as “Fauxcahontas” — a reference mocking her claim of Native American heritage — and Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., as a “shrill … quasi-socialist.”
In sharing the column, Schultz praised the author for a “thoughtful analysis of what’s possible.” The column argued that Schultz, who is flirting with running in 2020 as an independent, could win the presidential election.
CNN’s Anderson Cooper asked Schultz on Wednesday why he deleted the tweet.
“Because I don’t want to get into the mud with anybody,” Schultz said.
“I don’t want to get into revenge politics, which has been obviously been the problem that I’m identifying,” he said. “I don’t want to be part of mudslinging. I want to speak aspirationally and positively and do everything I can to elevate the national conversation. That is what’s necessary.”
An adviser to Schultz told the Washington Post the former CEO was not responsible for the tweet.
Schultz’s 2020 tease has ignited backlash among Democrats, who are already accusing him of ruining the possible defeat of President Trump. Schultz, previously a centrist Democrat, has said he worries the party will nominate a candidate too far to the Left.
