2020 Road to the White House
‘Sparks Joy in No One’: Internet Explodes in Anger as Howard Schultz Announces He May Run for President
‘Pulling a Jill Stein’
Billionaire and former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz says he is thinking of running for president – not as a Democrat but as a “centrist independent” – and it seems the only ones truly excited about the news are President Donald Trump and Howard Schultz.
Trump on Monday egged Schultz on – taunting him as Trump is prone to do – saying he doesn’t have the “guts” or smarts to run.
A Schultz third-party run would absolutely siphon off votes from the Democratic nominee, making very likely a Trump re-election win.
Schultz, a lifelong Democrat, on CBS’ “60 Minutes” appeared to not care about that liklihood.
Former Starbucks chairman and CEO @HowardSchultz says he’s seriously considering a 2020 presidential run as an independent candidate.
In an interview with @60Minutes, Schultz talked about why he’d run as a third-party candidate, rather than as a Democrat. https://t.co/pwRPTPFFhC pic.twitter.com/fr19adqiS1
— CBS This Morning (@CBSThisMorning) January 28, 2019
He also said the primary reason he would run is to reduce the deficit.
Meanwhile, many on social media are blasting the once-popular coffee purveyor who spent decades turning Starbucks into a household name.
Former SDNY US Attorney:
I think @HowardSchultz should totally run for city council in whatever city he lives
— Preet Bharara (@PreetBharara) January 28, 2019
Progressive activist:
Howard Schultz is doing a book event in NYC tonight in case folks want to drop in and tell him not to run pic.twitter.com/XPHAs7jZPM
— jordan (@JordanUhl) January 28, 2019
Journalist:
The worst part about Howard Schultz’s announcement is that he did it on a day when Kamala Harris drew a huge crowd and gave a superb speech. That he still went forward is the equivalent of interrupting a female board member to talk over her. https://t.co/p95WpK98cS
— Jennifer Hayden (@Scout_Finch) January 28, 2019
Law professor:
I can’t wait until Howard Schultz winds up in Chicago, so I can thank him for his coffee’s usefulness and tell him his dangerous vanity project sparks joy in no one.
— Anthony Michael Kreis (@AnthonyMKreis) January 28, 2019
Chairman of the nation’s largest grassroots Resistance organization:
For the sake of our nation and future generations, @HowardSchultz, please set aside your ego and DO NOT RUN.
— Jon Cooper (@joncoopertweets) January 28, 2019
Journalist, chairwoman:
Not since George Washington has a non-major party candidate won the election. Many predict your candidacy would draw votes from whatever Dem emerges in the primary and your candidacy would hand victory to Donald Trump in 2020. https://t.co/gmrDQYL0ES
— Soledad O’Brien (@soledadobrien) January 28, 2019
Writer and scholar:
No one wants you. The only thing you will unite this country in is a mass boycott of Starbucks.
— Sarah Kendzior (@sarahkendzior) January 28, 2019
Law analyst:
I love our country too, for which precise reason I’m not considering running for president. Patriotism should put limits even on ego. https://t.co/ux8zAbxhwr
— Benjamin Wittes (@benjaminwittes) January 28, 2019
Washington Post opinion writer:
Have to hand it to Howard Schultz – I can’t think of another person whose potential presidential campaign was greeted with such universal contempt.
— Paul Waldman (@paulwaldman1) January 28, 2019
More:
One problem is the belief that the best way to improve the country is if I’m put in charge of governing it. Not a program, a team, a party organized around some set of principles, a record of public service, some trail of what changes & policies I think are needed—no, simply me. https://t.co/Lqcu6N0eo8
— Taniel (@Taniel) January 28, 2019
As I was saying, @howardSchultz, running as independent will:
1) infuriate 30 million democrats who who immediately boycott @Starbucks
2) infuriate your workers (prolly 80% of who are liberals)
3) paint you as a political neophyte at best, and Putin puppet at worst. #ThinkHoward https://t.co/gCOd0mDx5a— Shoqqed You’re Not (@Shoq) January 28, 2019
WOMEN are the majority voters, guys. And we’re really done with white men ruling our shit. So step aside. Democrats to Howard Schultz: Don’t do it https://t.co/6umbDF2eem
— Geri Gourley (@gerigourley) January 28, 2019
Dear @HowardSchultz.
Do you know how much of your coffee we’ve bought lo these many, MANY years? This is how you repay us? Trying to divide the electorate? Playing the ‘both sides’ BS? This is the last purchase we’ll make until you abandon this stupidity. #BoycottStarbucks pic.twitter.com/oreU50TFcI— 𝙲𝚊𝚛𝚒𝚜𝚜𝚊 𝚒𝚗 𝙽𝚅 🌊 (@bluelyon) January 28, 2019
HOWARD SCHULTZ: I’m not doing this for me, I’m doing it for America.
AMERICA: sir, your logo is your name with your name written over it. pic.twitter.com/nCH3lMNbo4
— Jesse Lehrich (@JesseLehrich) January 28, 2019
Sorry @HowardSchultz, but the ‘privileged billionaire white guy “outsider” who really cares about the little people’ theory has already been tried. Stand down, because just like 2018, 2020 will be women taking back this country’s moral compass. https://t.co/fS6satFfzy
— Amy Roark (@Todays_Pretty) January 28, 2019
Great. Another rich narcissistic businessman with zero political experience who thinks he alone can fix it. Your double-shot of arrogance will leave a very bitter taste. #SellSBUX #BoycottStarbucks
— “Russia, if you’re listening…” (@DotardMoron) January 28, 2019
You are in this to hurt the Democratic nominee. There is no other reason for you to do what you are doing. You are pulling a Jill Stein and a Ralph Nader. So get lost. BTW, we’re boycotting your coffee too. I never did like it anyway.
— The seeker 🌀 (@seekerwisdom1) January 28, 2019
There aren’t many paths to Trump winning re-election in 2020.
Democrats running an extreme candidate who can’t appeal to the middle is one such path.
Some billionaire staging an independent campaign that succeeds only in splitting the anti-Trump vote is another. https://t.co/BmU7pJc6Mx
— Yascha Mounk (@Yascha_Mounk) January 28, 2019
Early voting. #HowardSchultz pic.twitter.com/0X7ieyjx9Y
— Jim Kessler (@ThirdWayKessler) January 28, 2019
I love our country, and I am seriously AGAINST another bloated ego billionaire running for President.
DON’T DO IT, Howard Schultz.
All you would accomplish is to pull votes away from DEMs and hand the election to trump.
We will boycott the hell out of Starbucks. Don’t try us. https://t.co/a1E85hW2Sz
— BrooklynDad_Defiant! (@mmpadellan) January 28, 2019
Nothing says “I don’t understand U.S. politics” like running as a “centrist independent” https://t.co/5UDyJeaH4e
— Brandon Friedman (@BFriedmanDC) January 28, 2019
I appreciate your hopes, Mr. Schultz, but we are in such a unique & urgent moment in this country that anything that distracts is misguided. We don’t need businessmen to “make us better”; we need people experienced in the political process; we need diversity, WE NEED WOMEN.
— Lorraine Devon Wilke (@LorraineDWilke) January 28, 2019
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2020 Road to the White House
Church Bells and Light Shows Across the Country Will Ring in Biden-Harris Administration
New details were released Thursday by the Presidential Inauguration Committee (PIC) on behalf of President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris. In addition to the incoming president leading a memorial to honor American lives lost to COVID-19, light shows across the country will also take place.
The church-bell ringings and light shows across the country will take place on Jan. 19 at 5:30 p.m. ET. A D.C. ceremony, led by Biden, will feature lights around the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool — the first time lighting around the Reflecting Pool has memorialized American lives lost.
“PIC is inviting cities and towns around the country to join Washington, D.C., in illuminating buildings and ringing church bells at 5:30 p.m. ET [15 minutes after sunset] in a national moment of unity and remembrance,” the committee said. “The inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris represents the beginning of a new national journey.”
The PIC statement continued, “However, in the midst of a pandemic — when so many Americans are grieving the loss of family, friends, and neighbors — it is important that we honor those who have died, reflect on what has been one of the more challenging periods in the nation’s history, and renew our commitment to coming together to end the pandemic and rebuild our nation.”
“President-elect Biden’s unwavering commitment to the safety of the American people is our North Star as we plan an inauguration that protects public health while honoring inaugural traditions and engaging Americans across the country. We are excited to share more information soon about the new and innovative ways all Americans can watch and participate in a historic inauguration that will unify our country,” said PIC Executive Director Maju Varghese.
“The pandemic is continuing to have a significant public health impact across the nation. Americans everywhere must do their part to slow the spread of the virus: wear masks, stay home, and limit gatherings. We are asking Americans to participate in inaugural events from home to protect themselves, their families, friends, and communities,” said PIC Chief Medical Advisor Dr. David Kessler.
The PIC will continue to announce further details about events and how Americans can participate as it becomes available in the coming weeks.
2020 Road to the White House
President-Elect Biden: Trump’s Mishandling of the Transition is ‘Nothing Short’ of ‘Irresponsibility’
President-elect Joe Biden made it clear Monday that his incoming administration will be operating from a disadvantage on day one if the Trump administration didn’t start cooperating immediately.
“From some agencies, our team received exemplary cooperation … from others, most notable, the Department of Defense, we encountered obstruction from the political leadership of that department,” Biden said in remarks delivered after a briefing with his national security and foreign policy advisers.
“Right now, as our nation is in a period of transition, we need to make sure that nothing is lost in the hand-off between administrations,” Biden said. “My team needs a clear picture of our force posture around the world and our operations to deter our enemies.”
He then added, “We need full visibility into the budget planning underway at the Defense Department and other agencies in order to avoid any window of confusion or catch up that our adversaries may try to exploit.”
Biden then called out the current administration for their “irresponsibility” in protecting the nation.
“Right now, we just aren’t getting all the information that we need from the outgoing administration in key national security areas,” he said. “It’s nothing short, in my view, of irresponsibility. Rebuilding the full set of our instruments of foreign policy and national security is a key challenge that the Vice President-elect Harris and I will face upon taking office, starting with our diplomacy.”
Watch the video below.
President-elect Biden delivers remarks following his briefing with national security and foreign policy agency review team members. Tune in: https://t.co/GhYVOPiHw8
— Biden-Harris Presidential Transition (@Transition46) December 28, 2020
Former South Bend, Indiana mayor Pete Buttigieg served as the 32nd mayor of South Bend, Indiana, from 2012 to 2020 before running as a presidential candidate against his potential new boss, Biden.
If approved, Buttigieg would become the nation’s first out Senate-confirmed LGBTQ Cabinet secretary.
“This weekend I had the privilege of talking with Ambassador James Hormel, who broke a barrier as the first openly LGBTQ nominee sent to the Senate,” Buttigieg tweeted on Sunday. “Ultimately he was denied even a vote and served through a recess appointment—but helped pave the way for so many, including me.”
This weekend I had the privilege of talking with Ambassador James Hormel, who broke a barrier as the first openly LGBTQ nominee sent to the Senate. Ultimately he was denied even a vote and served through a recess appointment—but helped pave the way for so many, including me. pic.twitter.com/8UYh3O3Mta
— Pete Buttigieg (@PeteButtigieg) December 20, 2020
Two hours earlier, Buttigieg tweeted, “Black and brown neighborhoods have been disproportionately divided by highway projects or left isolated by the lack of adequate transit and transportation resources. In the Biden-Harris administration, we will make righting these wrongs an imperative.”
Black and brown neighborhoods have been disproportionately divided by highway projects or left isolated by the lack of adequate transit and transportation resources.
In the Biden-Harris administration, we will make righting these wrongs an imperative.
— Pete Buttigieg (@PeteButtigieg) December 20, 2020
Trump Doubles Down Calling Egg Prices ‘Too Low’ as Costs Soar to Record Highs
‘Taunting SCOTUS’: Concerns Mount Over ‘Openly Contemptuous’ White House
Trump’s Latest Target: The Watchdog That Keeps Suing Him
‘Things Like This Take Place’: Trump Shrugs Off Mass Shooting Despite Once Being a Target
