WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - President Donald Trump lashed out at billionaire Howard Schultz in a post on Twitter on Monday after the former CEO of Starbucks Corp. (SBUX) said he is considering running for president as an independent.
'Howard Schultz doesn't have the 'guts' to run for President!' Trump tweeted. 'Watched him on @60Minutes last night and I agree with him that he is not the 'smartest person.' Besides, America already has that! I only hope that Starbucks is still paying me their rent in Trump Tower!'
The tweet from Trump comes after Schultz said he is 'seriously thinking of running for president' in an interview on CBS' '60 Minutes' that aired on Sunday.
Schultz indicated he would run as a centrist independent even though his views have always aligned with the Democratic Party.
'We're living at a most-fragile time,' Schultz said. 'Not only the fact that this president is not qualified to be the president, but the fact that both parties are consistently not doing what's necessary on behalf of the American people and are engaged, every single day, in revenge politics.'
Schultz did not respond directly to concerns that he would potentially siphon votes away from the eventual Democratic presidential nominee, saying only that he wants to see the American people win.
'I don't care if you're a Democrat, Independent, Libertarian, Republican. Bring me your ideas,' Schultz said. 'And I will be an independent person, who will embrace those ideas. Because I am not, in any way, in bed with a party.'
Later in the interview, Schultz said he has a long history of recognizing that he is not always the smartest person in the room.
'In order to make great decisions about complex problems, I have to recruit and attract people who are smarter than me and more experienced, more skilled,' Schultz said. 'And we've got to create an understanding that we need a creative debate in the room to make these kind of decisions.'
Schultz potentially jumping into the president race raises the prospect of a 2020 election with at least two billionaire candidates on the ballot.
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