Former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz’s potential third party bid for president has freaked out liberal media outlets including CBS. But that wasn’t always the media's attitude.
In 2018, CBS This Morning wanted to know if he’d run for office and joked about “President Schultz” — when they assumed he’d run against President Donald Trump as a Democrat.
“Well, Howard, I keep thinking this is your final act, your final store as executive chairman of Starbucks and you’re going out with a caffeinated bang. But it raises the question,” what’s next for you? Are you considering politics,” This Morning co-anchor Norah O’Donnell asked Schultz on Sept. 6, 2018.
When Schultz indicated “perhaps” public office would be in the future, but there might be things he could do to help “people who are not being served by this administration by not running for president. We’ll have to see.” O’Donnell then launched into criticism of Trump, talk about “resistance” in the administration and accusations that Trump “is amoral.”
Then she pressed Schultz: “Do you think it’s time that this country makes a change?”
He replied, in part,” [W]e have to ask ourselves what kind of country do we want to live in, what kind of world do we want to live in ... This is not a time for any of us to be a bystander, to be indifferent, but to make a difference and to be heard.”
Before ending the interview Schultz said he has “great aspirations for what I can do in the future to try and help those people who are being left behind, unfortunately, in the United States of America.”
Interjecting, co-anchor Gayle King told him, “We gotta go, we gotta go President Schultz” as her colleagues chuckled.
But in January 2019, it was no laughing matter to CBS when “lifelong Democrat” Schultz announced on 60 Minutes he was “seriously considering” a run for president as an “centrist independent.”
In spite of Schultz’ liberal views on abortion, climate change, immigration and more, 60 Minutes wanted to know “why” Schultz would run as an Independent and asked “Do you worry that you’re going to siphon votes away from the Democrats, and thereby, ensure that President Trump has a second term?”
CBS This Morning hyped Democrat opposition to a Schultz bid on Jan. 29, including a heckler who called him an “egotistical, billionaire, [BLEEP]!”
All three broadcast networks panicked on Jan. 28, reporting that Democrats were “up in arms” at the possibility of Schultz running as an Independent. NBC considered it “Brewing Controversy.” CBS even reported a left-leaning PAC would “target” Schultz if he launched an official bid.
