‘I want to be of service to our country’
The executive chairman of Starbucks is stepping down next month, leading many to speculate he may be gearing up to challenge President Donald Trump in 2020.
In a New York Times interview published Monday, the coffee giant CEO gave elusive answers when asked if he’s preparing for a political career, but did manage to blame Trump for promoting racial division.
“I want to be truthful with you without creating more speculative headlines,” Schultz said. “For some time now, I have been deeply concerned about our country — the growing division at home and our standing in the world.”
Schultz, 64, pointed out he wants to do something to give back to the people, but is unsure politics is the way to go about it.
“I want to be of service to our country, but that doesn’t mean I need to run for public office to accomplish that,” he told the NYT.
“One of the things I want to do in my next chapter is to figure out if there is a role I can play in giving back,” he added. “I’m not exactly sure what that means yet.”
Schultz raised the prospect of a political run when he slammed Trump last year, saying the President “is creating episodic chaos every day.”
Starbucks closed down shops across the country last week to hold a racial sensitivity workshop for employees following reports that stores were discriminating against black people. The company has since adopted policy changes that allow people to loiter in their establishments even if they’re not customers.
Trump had previously flirted with the possibility of calling for a Starbucks boycott during the 2016 presidential campaign, upset over the decision to omit “Merry Christmas” from their holiday cups.
