Republican operative Steve Schmidt abruptly stormed out of a podcast interview while being grilled about being an adviser to Howard Schultz, the former Starbucks CEO who is considering an independent bid for president.
Schmidt joined Adam Levine and Elise Jordan on Tuesday to record an episode of “Words Matter,” a center-right show all three created together.
The conversation got off to a testy, profanity-laced start when Schmidt defended himself for joining Schultz’s team after giving no prior notice to his cohorts, a source told the Daily Beast.
In the ensuing 30 minutes, Schmidt answered questions, dismissing the notion that Schultz couldn’t be a serious candidate and the businessman would just spoil the 2020 election for Democrats by siphoning away votes.
The question from Levine that set Schmidt off touched on the 70 percent marginal tax rate tossed around by Democrats. “Will Derek Jeter or another athlete not hit another home run because they’re going to get taxed at 70? What’s the economic behavior that he thinks is anti-growth, other than his own pocket?” Levine asked.
“This is bullshit,” Schmidt replied. “I’m not doing this.”
“Steve, you’ve got to answer the questions,” Levine said.
“I’m not,” Schmidt said before walking off.
The studio rebuffed Schmidt’s subsequent attempts to take legal action and buy the episode, which is set to be available in full on Monday.
“My objection is not on a tough question. It’s the surreality of having a podcast hijacked from me. Until this recording, I had always thought this was Elise’s and my podcast,” Schmidt told the Daily Beast.
Levine, who is the executive producer of the podcast, told the outlet he thinks Schmidt had anticipated a “softball interview.”
Levine also said Schmidt’s role with the podcast and company has ended — a move which seemingly upset Jordan, who said it is “a sad day in 2019 when a female co-host who is supposed to be an equal partner in a business is cut out of a key decision.”
