By Courtney Vasquez
Staff Writer
As the country gets closer to the 2020 presidential election, we as voters and citizens are beginning to wonder who will run for office.
As President Donald Trump will mostly seek to be the 17th president in U.S. history to become re-elected, many Americans wait to see who will run against him.
On Sunday’s airing of the CBS program “60 Minutes,” former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz hinted at a possible presidential run.
In the interview, Schultz added that he would run as a centrist independent.
This shocked Democrats since it had been implied Schultz would run for the party, but this was clarified during the interview. Schultz’s independent status, however, could cause Trump to win the 2020 election.
“[Schultz’s] announcement was met with concern from some in his party who believe this could pull support away from the nominee,” wrote ABC News’ Elizabeth Thomas in a recent article written on Monday.
“I am seriously thinking of running for president,” Schultz said to “60 Minutes” interviewer Scott Pelley. “I will run as a centrist independent outside of the two-party system.”
Is Schultz just another one of these successful celebrities/billionaires who thinks he would be a good president? Or does he have a better plan of how to fix what has gone wrong in our country?
In Schultz’s interview, he gave his stance on various issues such as immigration, healthcare and the 2018 tax cut.
“For the 11 million people here unauthorized, there should be a fair and equitable way for them to get in line, pay the taxes, pay a fee and become citizens of the United States,” Schultz said.
This seems to be much more reasonable than a metal wall for the issue of immigration, and I think many other would agree.
When asked about climate change, Schultz disagreed with Trump’s decision to withdraw the United States from the Paris Agreement. Since climate change is one of the world’s biggest issues, I definitely agree with Schultz’s stance.
While there have been mixed reactions about Schultz’s big announcement, I could not help but ask myself, why is he considering running?
Ever since Trump was elected president in 2016, there has been an uproarious spike in celebrities and/or billionaires being prodded by the public to run in the 2020 election. Entertainment mogul Oprah Winfrey, rapper Kanye West and even actor Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson have been among those considered to run our country.
Even though Schultz made good suggestions about how to fix these problems, Trump turned to Twitter to call out the former CEO on Monday morning.
“Howard Schultz doesn’t have the ‘guts’ to run for president,” Trump tweeted. “Watched him on ’60 Minutes’ last night and I agree with him that he is not the ‘smartest person.’”
Although I do not necessarily agree with the idea that celebrities and billionaires are now the ones better qualified for the American presidency, Schultz has showed some promise for his potential campaign.
In his “60 Minutes” interview, Schultz also shared that he is open to new ideas from both political parties, which is something I think is lacking from our political world.
“I want to see the American people win. I want to see America win,” Schultz said. “I don’t care if you’re a Democrat, independent, Libertarian, Republican. Bring me your ideas, and I will be an independent person who will embrace those ideas.”
The former Starbucks CEO has shown he can handle tough situations in the past.
In spring 2018, Starbucks came under heavy media fire when partners at a Philadelphia location called police to escort two non-paying African American customers out of the store. As it turns out, the two men were discussing a business endeavor and waiting for a third associate to arrive before they started ordering drinks.
The public relations for Starbucks worsened when days later, a paying African American customer at a Los Angeles Starbucks location recorded a barista admitting she denied him the code to the cafe’s restroom but still gave food to a non-paying white customer.
“Schultz closed all the U.S. stores for hours of racial bias training,” Pelley said on “60 Minutes.”
On May 29, 2018, Schultz issued an executive order to close down every Starbucks cafe in the United States.
All Starbucks partners were required to view a series of videos and read a series of select articles that addressed how to combat racial bias, economic prejudice, homophobia, transphobia and Islamophobia.
The closure was estimated to have cost the company over $7 million in revenue according to CBS News.
A monetary sacrifice of this caliber speaks to Schultz’s devotion and proactivity when combating prejudice in the Starbucks workplace.
Though being president will require much more than seminars on political correctness and anti-discrimination from Schultz, I believe he could be a good candidate for the 2020 election.
I was skeptical when I first heard about his possible campaign, but I’m sure he could dig the country out of this massive hole created by President Trump.
