Democratic megadonor Tom Steyer on Tuesday suggested fellow billionaire Howard Schultz ought to rethink running for president as a centrist independent.
Steyer, a hedge fund manager-turned-environmentalist, specifically targeted policy positions the former Starbucks CEO and executive chairman has floated this week since announcing last Sunday he was considering a third-party bid for the White House. Schultz has been openly critical of some of the tax and spending initiatives being touted by Democratic 2020 contenders, including government-financed healthcare and higher education.
“Mr. Schultz has a right to his own opinions,” Steyer told reporters on Capitol Hill, according Business Insider. “It doesn’t sound like he’s ready for primetime.”
Steyer took himself out of presidential contention this month after spending $120 million in 2018 to support Democratic candidates. Instead, he said at a press conference in Iowa that he had decided to focus on his Need to Impeach campaign to ensure President Trump is ousted from office sooner rather than later.
The Schultz development was another reason why it was so important to remove Trump from the Oval Office before he can seek a second term, Steyer said Tuesday during a Capitol Hill event held to kick off a re-energized effort lobbying lawmakers for Trump’s impeachment. He described Democrats’ confidence regarding the party’s chances of recapturing the presidency next year as “a level of arrogance that’s unwarranted.”
“For the people who are saying we should just wait until November of 2020 because they’re so sure they know what’s going to happen in November of 2020, think Howard Schultz’s announcement that he was considering running as an independent,” Steyer said. “It’s a stark reminder that there will be tons of events between now and November of 2020 that no one has predicted, that will change the facts on the ground, and that what we need to do is the right thing right now.”
