WASHINGTON—In the first instance of a billionaire-on-billionaire political skirmish in the 2020 presidential campaign, former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg warned former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz that an independent bid for the White House would re-elect President Trump. Mr. Bloomberg, who became a Democrat last year while laying the groundwork for his own potential 2020 presidential campaign, considered independent bids of his own in 2008 and 2016. Few officials in contemporary American politics have spent more time and resources investigating a presidential campaign outside the two major political parties. “There is no way an independent can win,” Mr. Bloomberg said Monday in a statement. “The great likelihood is that an independent would just split the anti-Trump vote and end up re-electing the president. That’s a risk I refused to run in 2016, and we can’t afford to run it now.” Mr. Schultz said during a “60 Minutes” interview broadcast Sunday that he will spend the next few months weighing a “centrist independent” candidacy. He said Mr. Trump is “not qualified to be the president” while also condemning Democrats. “Both parties are consistently not doing what’s necessary on behalf of the American people,” Mr. Schultz said. Presidential hopefuls are stepping out of the shadows, but their 2020 announcements are far from spontaneous. WSJ’s Shelby Holliday explains. Mr. Schultz is being advised by Steve Schmidt, who managed John McCain’s 2008 presidential campaign, and Bill Burton, a former aide to President Barack Obama. An aide to Mr. Schultz said he wasn’t available for comment Monday. Recent independent and third-party presidential candidates—who paint Republicans and Democrats as similar—have served to spoil the chances of major-party candidates without coming close to winning themselves. Texas oilman H. Ross Perot did the best of the group, winning 19% of the national popular vote in 1992, but carrying no states. While focusing his campaign on reducing the national debt, Mr. Perot suctioned support from President George H.W. Bush. Democrat Bill Clinton, who won 43% of the popular vote, was elected president. In 2000, Green Party candidate Ralph Nader campaigned against Vice President Al Gore from the political left. Democrats still blame Mr. Nader for costing Mr. Gore close races in Florida and other states that swung the election to Republican President George W. Bush. Republican polling expert Frank Luntz, who worked on the 1992 Perot campaign and also Mr. Bloomberg’s 2001 GOP campaign for New York City mayor, said Monday that his surveys have shown 53% of Americans would consider voting for an independent candidate. “If you have some congressman running as an independent, forget it, they’ll never have enough money to get their message out,” Mr. Luntz said. “With two parties at war with each other, this is a unique opportunity for a Schultz-like candidate.” But in practice, relatively few Americans actually do vote for independent or third-party candidates. In 2016, with the two most unpopular major-party candidates in the history of national polling running, third-party and independent candidates took a combined 5.7% of the vote. Write to Reid J. Epstein at reid.epstein@wsj.com<doc-sep>The possibility of Mr. Schultz’s candidacy as an independent has drawn condemnation from Democrats, who said that an independent run would split the vote on Election Day 2020 and hand Mr. Trump a second term. “I have two words for Howard Schultz on a potential run for president as an independent: Just don’t,” Tina Podlodowski, chairwoman of the state Democratic Party of Washington, said last week as speculation mounted about Mr. Schultz’s plans. Ms. Podlodowski also appeared on CNN Monday to reiterate her concerns. Neera Tanden, president of the Center for American Progress and a former adviser to Hillary Clinton, said on Twitter, “If he enters the race, I will start a Starbucks boycott because I’m not giving a penny that will end up in the election coffers of a guy who will help Trump win.” Mr. Schultz said he was well aware of the criticism, but said it was misplaced. “I am certainly prepared for the cynics and the naysayers to come out and say this cannot be done,” he said. “I don’t agree with them. I think it’s un-American to say it can’t be done. I’m not doing this to be a spoiler.” Asked if he would consider changing his mind and run as a Democrat, he said, “I feel if I ran as a Democrat I would have to be disingenuous and say things that I don’t believe because the party has shifted so far to the left.” “When I hear people espousing free government-paid college, free government-paid health care and a free government job for everyone — on top of a $21 trillion debt — the question is, how are we paying for all this and not bankrupting the country?” Mr. Schultz said.<doc-sep>Photo : Howard Schultz ( Getty Images ) What’s better than one billionaire? Two? Not so fast. With the house that Benjamin Banneker saved occupied by a purported billionaire and a Democratic field more crowded than a Wu Tang live performance, political donors and pundits remain clueless as to the eventual nature of the 2020 presidential race. While announcements trickle in and rumors abound, Americans looking for an alternative to the gaggle of sycophants cosplaying as an administration have yet to see much in the vein of actual campaigning. Still, while antsy prognosticators and curious voters debate over their dream tickets in lieu of polling data and actual primary votes, Americans on both sides are keenly aware of outsize role money is certain to play in the coming presidential election, perhaps more than any previous cycle. Advertisement Former Starbucks CEO and chairman Howard Schultz has plenty of money. Having amassed $3.4 billion by Forbes estimation, due in large part to his role in turning Starbucks into the international behemoth we’ve come to know, few would fault him for attempting to play kingmaker during the run-up to 2020. The longtime democrat has made no secret of his loyalties, or his politics. Starting with Ferguson, Mo., then- chairman and CEO of the coffee giant, Schultz oversaw Starbucks’ initiative to expand into lower-and-middle income neighborhoods, offering its vaunted benefits package to employees at every stop. But while coffee and community outreach may have come easy to Brooklyn-born business savant, politics ain’t coffee. After announcing his plan to run for President “as a centrist independent, outside of the two-party system” on CBS’ 60 Minutes, Schultz has spent the last few days getting ardently, vociferously dunked on by hecklers, Democrats, and even President Peach himself. Sunday, former San Antonio Mayor and current presidential hopeful Julian Castro told CNN that Schultz’s campaign would give Trump his best chance at re-election. Speaking to Jake Tapper, Castro warned Schultz “to truly think about the negative impact that that might make,” on the upcoming election. Dan Pfeiffer, former communications director for President Obama, criticized Schultz’s decision on Twitter, calling it a “half-baked idea” that he believed would “pose an existential threat to a Democrat in what will likely be 2020 race decided by a few votes in a handful of states.” It’s also worth noting that Pfieffer’s opinion was nearly drowned out by a sea of responses in what may be the single worst reply-to-retweet-to-like ratio Twitter has ever seen. Advertisement Trump, likely encouraged by the possibility of a spoiler for the ages (think Nader but with personality and money) had a few words (spoken at a fourth-grade level, of course) for Schultz. Advertisement “I agree with him that he is not the ‘smartest person’,” Trump said via Twitter. “I only hope that Starbucks is still paying me their rent in Trump Tower!” Advertisement Speaking Monday at a book event at a Barnes & Noble in Manhattan, Schultz was interrupted mere moments into his appearance. “Don’t help elect Trump, you egotistical billionaire asshole!” shouted a heckler in the crowd. “Go back to getting ratioed on Twitter. Go back to Davos with the other billionaire elite who think they know how to run the world!” Advertisement Schultz went on to identify his platform as one of basic, centrist hogwash. “If you kind of look at the tea leaves today, it appears that the Democratic Party is shifting far, far left with very strong, progressive ideas,” he said. Advertisement “I believe that if I ran as a Democrat,” he continued, “ I would have to say things that I know in my heart I do not believe, and I would have to be disingenuous. For example, what the progressive, left-leaning Democratic Party is suggesting is government-paid health care for everyone, which is free, and government-paid college for everyone.” When pressed as to whether he could be swayed by a rejiggering of the democratic message, Schultz remained unmoved. “I don’t think their views represent the majority of Americans,” he said. “I don’t think we want a 70 percent income tax in America, and I certainly don’t think we can afford the things they’re suggesting.” Advertisement That’s.....not what.....never mind. While Schultz certainly didn’t amass a fortune of more than three thousand million dollars by listening to the likes of us (or even Trump, for that matter), he might want to heed the words of America’s OG will-he-wont-he rich dude, former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Advertisement “Given the strong pull of partisanship and the realities of the Electoral College system,” said Bloomberg, himself mulling a White House bid, “ there is no way an independent can win.” “ In 2020,” he continued, “ the great likelihood is that an independent would just split the anti-Trump vote and end up re-electing the president. That’s a risk I refused to run in 2016 and we can’t afford to run it now.” Advertisement Schultz, when confronted with the round, near-universal disapproval of his potential candidacy, was as defiant as you’d expect a billionaire to be. Advertisement “I’m not trying to win the Twitter primary,” he quipped. Schultz is right to put little stock in the musings of Twitter users. He’s even smarter to avoid a man who employs the services of Rudy Giuliani. Still, if Schultz is as smart as the halo effect would make him out to be, he might want to listen to history.<doc-sep>
Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg took a not-so-subtle swipe at Howard Schultz after the ex-Starbucks CEO said he's mulling an independent presidential bid, issuing a statement Monday saying there is “no way an independent can win.” Bloomberg, who is also considering a 2020 presidential run as a Democrat, did not call out Schultz by name on Monday, but the message was clear. TRUMP BLASTS HOWARD SCHULTZ, SAYS EX-STARBUCKS CEO DOESN'T HAVE THE 'GUTS' TO RUN IN 2020 “Given the strong pull of partisanship and the realities of the electoral college system, there is no way an independent can win. That is truer today than ever before,” Bloomberg said, echoing concerns from other Democrats that an independent would split the vote and help President Trump get re-elected to a second term. Bloomberg, in his statement, cited his own history considering an independent bid (before he switched to become a Democrat ahead of the 2020 cycle). "In fact I faced exactly the same decision now facing others who are considering it," he said. "... In 2020, the great likelihood is that an independent would just split the anti-Trump vote and end up re-electing the President. That's a risk I refused to run in 2016 and we can't afford to run it now. We must remain united, and we must not allow any candidate to divide or fracture us. The stakes couldn’t be higher." Bloomberg’s comments come after Schultz discussed his 2020 considerations on CBS News’ “60 Minutes” on Sunday. KAMALA HARRIS SNAGS EARLY ENDORSEMENT FROM DEMOCRATIC REP. TED LIEU Schultz revealed he was “seriously thinking” about running for president in 2020 as a “centrist independent,” challenging Trump’s fitness for office. “We’re living at a most fragile time, 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,” Schultz said, specifically citing the national debt as “a reckless example, not only of Republicans but of Democrats, as well, as a reckless failure of their constitutional responsibility.” Schultz’s comments on “60 Minutes” drew scrutiny from Republicans and Democrats, as some on the left fear he could play the role of a spoiler, especially considering Schultz described himself as a “lifelong Democrat” yet is now contemplating a run as an independent. During the “60 Minutes” interview, though, Schultz ducked the question of whether his independent run would help Trump’s re-election. “I wanna see the American people win,” he said. “I wanna see America win. I don’t care if you’re a Democrat, independent, Libertarian, Republican. Bring me your ideas. And I will be an independent person, who will embrace those ideas. Because I’m not, in any way, in bed with a party.” No third-party or independent candidate has won over 5 percent of the popular vote since Ross Perot in 1996. But Schultz argued that the majority of the electorate is “exhausted” with politics. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “What we know, factually, is that over 40 percent of the electorate is either a registered independent or currently affiliates themselves as an independent,” he said. “Their trust has been broken. And they are looking for a better choice.” Meanwhile, Trump fired back at Schultz, saying he does not have the “guts” to run for president. Fox News’ Samuel Chamberlain contributed to this report.