Howard Schultz said that the Democratic Party is threatening democracy with moving too far left.
“We have a Democratic Party that’s moving closer and closer to fracturing our democracy and free enterprise system with socialism. And I’m here to say, ‘No, that’s not the way to go.’ We need a new level of leadership, and we need to reimagine the government,” Schultz told CNN Saturday morning.
The former CEO of Starbucks in considering running as an independent in the 2020 presidential elections, an idea that has faced fierce backlash from Democrats who say it could split the vote and lead to another victory from President Trump.
Schultz, 68, says he did not leave the Democratic Party, but that the Democratic Party left him.
“There’s no question that the Democratic Party now is a party that is in the shadows of things that are hard to even imagine, let alone recognize,” Schultz said, blaming two candidates, Sens. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., for driving the party too far left.
Schultz said that far-right Republicans also do not represent ideas embraced by the majority of the American people, which is why he feels a third-party candidate is ideal for 2020.
“The American people are looking for — and longing for — a second alternative to the two-party system that is broken, dysfunctional, revenge politics everyday,” Schultz said.
