Howard Schultz wants to have bipartisan meetings over 'coffee — Starbucks coffee'


Welcome to the businessman presidency, take two.
OK, so former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz hasn't officially announced a 2020 run or convinced anyone that he could win as a third-party "centrist independent." But he did sound downright presidential in a speech to Miami Dade College on Wednesday, especially as he made some potentially sponsored comments about bitter partisanship.
At the Florida college, the person of means lauded historic bipartisanship shown under former President Ronald Reagan and former Democratic House Speaker Tip O'Neill. Today's government looks nothing like that, Schultz continued, but he said he'll fix it all by having "members of both parties to the White House for coffee — Starbucks coffee — as often as I can."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
If a White House mention wasn't enough, Schultz made other presidential promises in the speech, saying he "would not nominate a Supreme Court justice" who couldn't be confirmed by "two-thirds" of the Senate, per ABC News. That majority hasn't been achieved since Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor's nomination in 2009. Schultz then went on to fight "centrist independent" haters, saying he "refuse[s] to be deterred" from his fight to save America from a "crisis of division."
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.
-
How often should you check your credit report?
The explainer Contrary to what you might expect, your credit report does not contain your credit score. But it does offer a lot of other valuable information.
-
Sick 9/11 responders are being left behind amid federal spending battle
The Explainer Services have been cut and restored following outcry, but staffing issues remain
-
TV to watch in May, including 'The Four Seasons' and 'Duster'
The Week Recommends A comedy from Tina Fey, a '70s crime thriller from J.J. Abrams and an adaptation from the pages of Judy Blume
-
Shakespeare not an absent spouse, study proposes
speed read A letter fragment suggests that the Shakespeares lived together all along, says scholar Matthew Steggle
-
New Mexico to investigate death of Gene Hackman, wife
speed read The Oscar-winning actor and his wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead in their home with no signs of foul play
-
Giant schnauzer wins top prize at Westminster show
Speed Read Monty won best in show at the 149th Westminster Kennel Club dog show
-
Beyoncé, Kendrick Lamar take top Grammys
Speed Read Beyoncé took home album of the year for 'Cowboy Carter' and Kendrick Lamar's diss track 'Not Like Us' won five awards
-
The Louvre is giving 'Mona Lisa' her own room
Speed Read The world's most-visited art museum is getting a major renovation
-
Honda and Nissan in merger talks
Speed Read The companies are currently Japan's second and third-biggest automakers, respectively
-
Taylor Swift wraps up record-shattering Eras tour
Speed Read The pop star finally ended her long-running tour in Vancouver, Canada
-
Drake claims illegal boosting, defamation
Speed Read The rapper accused Universal Music of boosting Kendrick Lamar's diss track and said UMG allowed him to be falsely accused of pedophilia