Howard Schultz, former CEO of Starbucks, mulls an independent presidency. Democrats are not happy with this

Democrats oppose a number of potential contenders for President Trump's 2020 re-election bid – with the exception of one.

In an interview Sunday with CBS News "" 60 minutes, "Starbucks former CEO Howard Schultz announced he seriously considers a bid as a" centrist "independent." I have been a lifelong Democrat. We look at both parties, we see extremes on both sides, "said Schultz to Scott Pelley.

" The American people are exhausted. Their trust is broken. And they are looking for a better choice, "he said.

But what Schultz can see as a" better choice, "Democrats see as a bad idea. Party leaders did not waste time countering him from moving forward with a campaign, and fear that a liberal independent bid would pull off the final party candidate's vote and work for Mr. Trump's advantage.

"I have a concern that if he drove, it would essentially give Donald Trump his best hope to re-elected. "2020 hopeless Julián Castro told CNN's EU state on Sunday." I would suggest Mr. Schultz to really think about the negative impact that it can make. "

Neera Tanden, President of the Center for American Progress, put the more incredible: "If he enters the race, I want to start a Starbucks boycott because I don't give a penny that will end up in election vouchers for a guy who will help Trump wins. "

The chance to defeat Mr. Trump has become an organizational principle for the Democratic Party, and the party's primary and caucus voters place a prize on on eligibility when considering candidates.

"If you do not want Donald Trump re-elected, you should be ready to unite behind the democratic nominee as the best antidote," said Democratic strategist Jesse Ferguson , advocating Hillary Clinton's 2016 campaign. "Finally, the American people will not be friendly to a billionaire, who thinks his money gives him the right to this kind of vanity experiment. People can't like the two party systems, but they like a party of an even smaller one." [19659002] Independent bids have not been successful in the presidential policy, and they are often seen as spoilers; Ross Perot's candidates in 1992 and Ralph Nader in 2000 are among the notorious examples of independent or third-party bids that affect the outcome of the overall competition. And many Democrats were ravaged by Jill Stein 's candidacy in 2016.

When New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg refused to make an independent bid in 2016, he claimed his candidacy may lead to the election of Donald Trump. "It's not a risk I can take in good conscience," he wrote in an op-ed at that time.

Democrats have supported an independent bid from a republican – for one, John Kasich said to weigh an independent race – as it would siip votes from Mr. Trump. But Schultz is the first democrat to weigh a bid outside the party. And his personal wealth and resources will allow him to stay in operation as long as he wants to stay in the race.

Schultz quit when asked if his entry would be detrimental to Democrats. "I want to see the American people win," he said. "I want to be an independent person who will embrace these ideas because I'm not in any way bed with a party."

Schultz has been a frequent and high critic of Mr. Trump, and had used his position as CEO of Starbucks as a platform to balance cultural debates. In his "60 minutes" interview, he agreed with many democratic party positions, including on immigration and climate change. And on a foreign policy front he said it was not in the country's interest to choose matches with allies. "We are much better than a country that is part of the world order," he said.

But he disagrees with a pressure in the party for a "Medicare-for-All" health care approach and claims that "what the Democrats suggest is something as false as the wall. And it is free health care in all that the country cannot afford. "