--- title: "He Doesn't Have the Guts." Trump Hits Out At Howard Schultz description: President Trump tweeted that Howard Schultz “doesn’t have the guts” to be President, after he said he might run as an independent in 2020. canonical: https://time.com/5514457/trump-howard-schultz-guts/ author: Billy Perrigo article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2019-01-28T14:47:50.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-13T08:21:05.048Z article:section: Politics og:title: President Trump Says Howard Schultz 'Doesn't Have the Guts' To Be President og:description: After the ex-Starbucks chief announced he might run as an independent in 2020 og:url: https://time.com/5514457/trump-howard-schultz-guts/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta1297c2151ba8e66/69894410457a522d55d60646/gettyimages-467043632.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: Starbucks Holds Annual Shareholders Meeting og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: President Trump Says Howard Schultz 'Doesn't Have the Guts' To Be President twitter:description: After the ex-Starbucks chief announced he might run as an independent in 2020 twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta1297c2151ba8e66/69894410457a522d55d60646/gettyimages-467043632.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # President Trump Says Howard Schultz 'Doesn't Have the Guts' To Be President > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=ac9764b3-18a4-4c4d-a94a-0635f4bd4b47&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Meet the Democratic Candidates Running for President in 2020 [Watch (HLS stream): Meet the Democratic Candidates Running for President in 2020](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/EcGVhn6h.m3u8) (1:17)  _Published 2019-01-18. Meet the Democratic Candidates Running for President in 2020_  by [Billy Perrigo](https://time.com/author/billy-perrigo/)  ## Billy Perrigo Correspondent Jan 28, 2019 2:47 PM UTC Meet the Democratic Candidates Running for President in 2020  by [Billy Perrigo](https://time.com/author/billy-perrigo/)  ## Billy Perrigo Correspondent Jan 28, 2019 2:47 PM UTC President Trump said Monday that Howard Schultz “doesn’t have the ‘guts’” to be President, a day after the ex-Starbucks Chairman and CEO told CBS’ _60 Minutes_ he was mulling running as an [independent candidate](http://time.com/5514417/howard-schultz-starbucks-trump/) in 2020. “Howard Schultz doesn’t have the “guts” to run for President,” Trump tweeted Monday morning. “\[I\] Watched him on 60 Minutes last night and I agree with him that he is not the ‘smartest person,’” Trump continued. “Besides, America already has that!,” he added, apparently referring to himself. > [](https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1089881244312178688) Like Trump, Schultz is a former donor to the Democratic Party. “We’re living at a most fragile time,” Schultz told CBS on Sunday. He went on: “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 has positioned himself as a business-minded centrist, and has criticized policies like single-payer healthcare supported by Democrats who have thrown their hats in the ring for 2020. “It concerns me that so many voices within the Democratic Party are going so far to the left,” Schultz told CNBC in June 2018\. “I ask myself, ‘How are we going to pay for all these things?’ In terms of things like single-payer or people espousing the fact that the government is going to give everyone a job. I don’t think that’s realistic.” Democratic Party stalwarts, meanwhile, [expressed](http://time.com/5514417/howard-schultz-starbucks-trump/) their concern that Schultz’s decision to run as an independent could split the anti-Trump vote and hand the President a second term at the next election. Schultz, who stepped down from Starbucks in June, has an estimated net worth of $2.9 billion, according to [_Forbes_](https://www.forbes.com/forbes-400/#74f1f14f7e2f). Trump’s is $3.1 billion, according to the same calculations. A sense of competition might have informed the last line of Trump’s tweet: “I only hope that Starbucks is still paying me their rent in Trump Tower!” ## Transcript Democrats are lining up to run against Donald Trump. [ MUSIC ] With the 2020 election still a ways away, an unusually large number of candidates have announced they are running or hinted strongly that they will. Here's a look at some of the major names who have joined the race so far. [ MUSIC ] As a law professor, Warren helped create the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Before joining the Senate in 2012. She's long advocated for tougher rules on banks and corporations and pocketbook issues like student loan reform. A former member of the House from upstate New York, Gillibrand has moved to the left since taking Hillary Clinton's old Senate seat in 2009. In announcing her run, she cited her experience as a young mom. A former state legislator and US representative, Brown has represented Ohio in the Senate since 2006. He will be pushing a brand of Midwestern liberalism that mixes Trump's skepticism of trade agreements with Warren's concerns about Wall Street. An Iraq veteran and former state lawmaker, Gabbard was the first Hindu elected to Congress. But her past opposition to gay marriage and interactions with Syrian dictator Bashar al- Assad make her a long shot in the Democratic primary. [ MUSIC ] The former mayor of San Antonio and Housing and Urban Development secretary, Castro has an unusual resume for a presidential candidate. But he believes his arguments on hot- button issues like immigration can help him break out. 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