By: Amie Parnes – thehill.com – January 31, 2019

Former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz is enduring a rocky presidential rollout.

Schultz, who announced Sunday that he is considering a White House run as an independent, has faced an onslaught of criticism by Democrats who have criticized his wealth and slammed him for offering a candidacy they say could hand President Trump another term in the Oval Office.

Critics from David Axelrod to The View’s Joy Behar to political figures such as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) have piled in, ripping Schultz for a sense of entitlement in announcing his intentions.

Schultz has had some public defenders as well, but they have been largely drowned out by his critics — some who saw in the former Starbucks leader another billionaire businessman not ready for the political stage.

“Really? The coffee guy wants to be president?” HBO host Bill Maher tweeted. “Just because you had one profitable insight — people will overpay for coffee — doesn’t mean you can run the world. Government is a different animal, can we please get a pro in there?”

In fact, the criticism has been so vociferous, it has left some Democrats believing that Schultz, who is currently on a book tour, won’t end up running for the White House.

“Democrats will not have to pressure Schultz to drop out of the race,” said Robert Zimmerman, a prominent Democratic donor. “When his books move to the $1 discount bin at bookstores, he will get the message.”

Erin McPike, a spokeswoman for Schultz, said all the blowback this week “shows he is resonating.”

“He wrote in an earlier book, ‘Don’t try to fit the system.’ It’s in his blood to create a new paradigm, so he’s asking Americans if they agree that now is the time for a reimagining of our political system,” McPike said to The Hill. “We know real change can seem unnerving at first.”

Schultz used a spot on Sunday’s “60 Minutes” to begin his media blitz, which also included interviews on a string of network and cable shows. But as he made the rounds, Schultz dealt with hecklers, an avalanche of criticism on social media and even hecklers at his book events.

“Don’t help elect Trump, you egotistical billionaire asshole!” a protester shouted as he appeared at a Barnes and Noble event in New York alongside CNBC’s Andrew Ross Sorkin. “Go back to getting ratioed on Twitter.”

When MSNBC’s Mika Brzezinski asked Schultz how much an 18 ounce box of Cheerios costs, the billionaire replied: “An 18 ounce box of Cheerios? I don’t eat Cheerios.”

When the Morning Joe host revealed the cereal costs four dollars, a seemingly surprised Schultz responded: “That’s a lot.”

When he appeared on “The View,” he wasn’t just being attacked from hosts on the left like Behar but by Republican Megan McCain, who said Schultz is a “glaring example that, as long as you’re a billionaire, you can run for anything.”

The antipathy from Democrats toward Schultz is based partly on painful memories of lost elections, but also has been amplified in a Trump era where the party’s left-wing is clearly assurgent.

In 2000, Democrats see Independent candidate Ralph Nader as having stolen the presidential election from former Vice President Al Gore by playing the spoiler in Florida.

Source: Schultz presidential rollout ignites fury on left | TheHill