Democrats are already losing a “latte” sleep over the idea of former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz running for president in 2020 as an Independent candidate.
During a segment Wednesday on MSNBC’s “Deadline: White House,” host Nicolle Wallace lost her mind and went after Steve Schmidt, a network contributor who is currently working as an adviser to Schultz.
Wallace furiously told Schmidt that “people are terrified” that he’ll help re-elect President Donald Trump.
“Why can’t someone like Schultz go in and try to win inside a Democratic primary and change the party to be more centrist?” Wallace asked.
“When we look at the American constitution, there is no mention of political parties,” Schmidt replied, arguing that George Washington warned about political parties in his farewell address.
“Listen, you can out-history me asleep better than I can awake,” a visibly frustrated Wallace began, adding, “but my point is, we have never — it is a — people are terrified, and people are terrified that you, one of the most visible Trump critics, are now behind someone they feel like can take away the Democrats’ best chance of toppling Donald Trump.”
“Nobody is voting. The election is two years away,” Schmidt replied.
“We’re already scared!” Wallace exclaimed, playing up the end-of-the-world theatrics if Trump is re-elected to a second term.
Schmidt went on to defend Schultz as being “tough” when Wallace noted numerous Democrats voicing their concerns with his potential third party run.
“When you think about Howard Schultz and you look at the last week, at long last there might be someone in America’s political life who isn’t intimidated by the Twitter mob, and I think that’s a good thing,” Schmidt said.
“He’s not Jill Stein, he’s not Ross Perot, he’s not Ralph Nader. What he said is he wants to have a conversation with the American people to see if perhaps the hour of disruption may be at hand for our utterly broken political system,” he added.
Wallace is just one of many Democrats who has freaked out over the idea of Schultz running for president as an Independent candidate.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-MA, went on a Twitter tirade against Schultz because he said her massive tax hike proposal resembled socialism.
While on Fox News, Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez practically begged Schultz to run on the Democratic side.
“I have respect for Howard Schultz,” Perez said. “If he chooses to get in the race, I hope he gets in in the Democratic party. We’ll treat him very fairly.”
While appearing on CNN’s “Out Front,” former 2016 Clinton campaign manager John Podesta claimed the former CEO making a third party run would only help Trump.
“All he’ll do is end up splitting the Trump vote. I would think Mr. Schultz would rather have his legacy the fact he became a billionaire selling coffee than he helped get Donald Trump re-elected of the United States,” Podesta said.
Neera Tanden, a top Clinton ally and president of the Center for American Progress, put it more bluntly: “If he enters the race, I will start a Starbucks boycott because I’m not giving a penny that will end up in the election coffers of a guy who will help Trump win.”
Vanity projects that help destroy democracy are disgusting. If he enters the race, I will start a Starbucks boycott because I’m not giving a penny that will end up in the election coffers of a guy who will help Trump win. https://t.co/epUYVrcEg8
— Neera Tanden🌻 (@neeratanden) January 26, 2019
Democratic strategist Jesse Ferguson, who served as a spokesman for Clinton’s 2016 campaign, followed suit.
“If you don’t want Donald Trump re-elected, you should be ready to unite behind the Democratic nominee as the best antidote,” Ferguson said.
“In the end, the American people won’t take kindly to a billionaire who thinks his money entitles him to this kind of vanity experiment. People may not like the two party system, but they like a party of one even less,” he added, ramping up the threatening rhetoric.
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