Prez Candidate/Potential Spoiler Howard Schultz Heckled Spectacularly

The former Starbucks CEO wants to run for president as a "centrist independent." It's not going well.

Neal Broverman

Neal Broverman is the Editorial Director, Print of Pride Media, publishers of The Advocate, Out, Out Traveler, and Plus, spending more than 20 years in journalism. He indulges his interest in transportation and urban planning with regular contributions to Los Angeles magazine, and his work has also appeared in the Los Angeles Times and USA Today. He lives in the City of Angels with his husband, children, and their chiweenie.

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Neal Broverman

January 29 2019 10:45 AM EST

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With an unstable xenophobe running the country, a majority of Americans are anxious to get new blood in the White House. It doesn't appear that many are angling for Howard Schultz -- the billionaire former CEO of Starbucks -- to be that new blood.

Appearing at a Manhattan Barnes & Noble on Monday to hawk his new memoir, From the Ground Up, Schultz mentioned his candidacy for president. Just as he described his presidential aspirations and his party affiliation as "centrist independent," a heckler stood up.

"Don't help elect Trump, you egotistical billionaire asshole!" the man shouted. "Go back to getting ratioed on Twitter. Go back to Davos with the other billionaire elite who think they know how to run the world!"

— (@)

The heckler was escorted out, but Schultz's appearance was disrupted again by another person, who repeatedly screamed, "Health care is a human right!"

Schultz has criticized the expansive health care plans of some Democrats, including Sen. Kamala Harris, who is also running for president.

It's not just Schultz's potential role as a spoiler in the 2020 election -- siphoning votes from Harris or whoever the Democratic nominee is -- many object to Schultz's lack of political experience and his hubris at assuming he, another straight white businessman like Donald Trump, can fix a broken America. There's also the fact that he's already disparaged Democratic candidates, including Harris and Elizabeth Warren. The latter senator had some sharp words for Schultz on Twitter.

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\u201cBillionaires like Howard Schultz & Michael Bloomberg want to keep a rigged system in place that benefits only them and their buddies. And they plan to spend gobs of cash to try and buy the Presidency to keep it that way. Not on my watch.\u201d
— Elizabeth Warren (@Elizabeth Warren) 1548793356