Ex-Starbucks chief Howard Schultz hints at political aspirations

Howard Schultz, the former Starbucks CEO and current chairman emeritus, hinted in an interview published Thursday that he is still considering a run for political office now that his involvement in the company’s day-to-day operations is at an end.

“I’m thinking about a lot of things,” Schultz told “CBS This Morning” at the opening of Starbucks’ new store location in Milan, Italy. “I said publicly that perhaps one of them will be public office, but there’s a lot of things I could do, perhaps to help the American people and help people who are not being served by this administration by not running for president. We’ll have to see.”

Schultz, 65, has been rumored to have political aspirations since before he announced his plan to step down as Starbucks’ executive chairman last June. He has repeatedly criticized President Donald Trump’s administration since he assumed office in 2016, stating earlier this year that Trump is “creating episodic chaos” in the United States.

Schultz is widely considered to be a potential candidate for the Democratic presidential ticket in 2020.

"I think the American people are somewhat exhausted by some of the things that have happened over the last year and a half,” Schultz told CBS. “And I think people are longing not only in the U.S. but around the world.”

Schultz served two stints as Starbucks’ CEO, from 1987 to 2000 and again from 2008 to 2016. Under his leadership, the company’s stock has risen more than 21,000 percent since its 1992 IPO.

Schultz isn’t the only businessman rumored to have political aspirations in 2020. Aside from Trump himself, other business leaders said to be mulling a run include Mark Cuban, Disney CEO Bob Iger and JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon.