After Schultz stepped down from Starbucks in 2018, political commentators speculated whether he would run in the 2020 United States presidential election.
There was additional encouragement from a draft movement called Ready for Schultz.
At the start of 2019 The New Republic ran a piece called "Run, Howard, Run!"
encouraging him to enter the contest.
He hired Steve Schmidt and Bill Burton, two political consultants, to assess his candidacy.
On January 27, 2019, he stated in an interview with 60 Minutes that he was exploring a run for president as an independent candidate, and that he considered running as a centrist.
He was reportedly willing to spend $300 to $500 million on the 2020 election.
Schultz's proposed independent candidacy was widely condemned by Democrats who argued that Schultz's third-party candidacy would help to re-elect President Trump by splitting the vote of those opposed to the president.
Political scientist Larry Sabato said that Schultz's candidacy was likely to benefit Trump.
However, a CNN analysis believed that "running on a deficit-reduction platform might end up syphoning as many Republican moderates away from Trump as liberals or independents away from the Democratic nominee."
In response to claims that his candidacy would benefit Trump, Schultz said, "Nobody wants to see Donald Trump removed from office more than me."
His first town hall in Seattle received mixed reception with protestors holding up "venti mistake" and "grande ego" banners while his actual speech was well received.
As a large shareholder of Starbucks stock, Schultz was repeatedly asked about potentially selling all of his holdings if elected to the White House. "
There's multiple ways to do this, set up a blind trust, do lots of things to remove any conflict of interest" he replied.
He had, however, promised to release all of his tax returns if elected.

Later in February, Schultz said he would stay out of the race if the Democrats nominated "a centrist Democrat."
In May 2019, Schultz delayed his decision and by September 6, officially ruled out a presidential run, stating that it wasn't the best way to "serve our country at this time."
The eventual progression of centrist candidate Joe Biden as the presumptive nominee motivated Schultz to step aside due to their overlapping political ideologies.
While he has not officially endorsed Biden for the presidency, Schultz has stated in interviews that he "admires" the candidate.
After Schultz stepped down from Starbucks in 2018, political commentators speculated whether he would run in the 2020 United States presidential election. There was additional encouragement from a draft movement called Ready for Schultz. At the start of 2019 The New Republic ran a piece called "Run, Howard, Run!" encouraging him to enter the contest. He hired Steve Schmidt and Bill Burton, two political consultants, to assess his candidacy. On January 27, 2019, he stated in an interview with 60 Minutes that he was exploring a run for president as an independent candidate, and that he considered running as a centrist. He was reportedly willing to spend $300 to $500 million on the 2020 election. Schultz's proposed independent candidacy was widely condemned by Democrats who argued that Schultz's third-party candidacy would help to re-elect President Trump by splitting the vote of those opposed to the president. Political scientist Larry Sabato said that Schultz's candidacy was likely to benefit Trump. However, a CNN analysis believed that "running on a deficit-reduction platform might end up syphoning as many Republican moderates away from Trump as liberals or independents away from the Democratic nominee." In response to claims that his candidacy would benefit Trump, Schultz said, "Nobody wants to see Donald Trump removed from office more than me." His first town hall in Seattle received mixed reception with protestors holding up "venti mistake" and "grande ego" banners while his actual speech was well received. As a large shareholder of Starbucks stock, Schultz was repeatedly asked about potentially selling all of his holdings if elected to the White House. "There's multiple ways to do this, set up a blind trust, do lots of things to remove any conflict of interest" he replied. He had, however, promised to release all of his tax returns if elected.
Later in February, Schultz said he would stay out of the race if the Democrats nominated "a centrist Democrat." In May 2019, Schultz delayed his decision and by September 6, officially ruled out a presidential run, stating that it wasn't the best way to "serve our country at this time." The eventual progression of centrist candidate Joe Biden as the presumptive nominee motivated Schultz to step aside due to their overlapping political ideologies. While he has not officially endorsed Biden for the presidency, Schultz has stated in interviews that he "admires" the candidate.
Howard Schultz