Howard Schultz: I’ll Run As An Independent Because Democrats Want ‘A Free Job For Everybody’

Over the past few days, former Starbucks CEO and multi-billionaire Howard Schultz has been on a media blitz to discuss the strong possibility that he’ll run for president in 2020 as a “centrist independent.” The reaction to his announcement has been, to put it gently, harsh. Both Democrats and independents have loudly told Schultz don’t do it, and he’s faced loud jeers and heckles from crowds who feel he’s an “egotistical billionaire asshole” who will get Donald Trump re-elected.

Schultz continued his disastrous talk show tour on Tuesday with an appearance on ABC’s The View. And, needless to say, it went just as swimmingly as his other media hits.

During the multi-segment interview, Schultz faced heat from both the conservatives (Meghan McCain, Abby Huntsman) and liberals/centrists (Joy Behar, Sunny Hostin, Whoopi Goldberg) on the panel over his potential candidacy. After McCain wanted to know why he was doing national media stops instead of visiting primary states to take his case to local voters, Behar chimed in that he’s out here “selling a book.”

“I think you’re misunderstanding me,” Schultz told McCain. “I’m not saying anything against the electoral college. What I’m saying if it’s a 50-state race, you can get to 270 electoral college applies.”

He continued, “With regard to New Hampshire and Iowa, watch every Democrat go to those states and have to be disingenuous and probably make a false promise about fentanyl just to get elected in the primary in those states. I would have to be disingenuous as a Democrat if I ran as a Democrat because in order to run as a Democrat today you have to fall in line with free Medicare for everybody, free, free college for everybody, a free job for everybody.”

Umm, free job for everybody??? What does that even mean? Like, you are supposed to pay to have a job?

Anyway, Goldberg interrupted, telling Schultz he had just said he would make sure everybody got paid, causing the billionaire to respond that he didn’t mean “free for the government.” He went on to complain about the national debt and the cost of Medicare for All, saying we can’t afford to do these programs and that we really have to look towards “corporate responsibility” and large-brand companies like Starbucks have to do more for communities.

Watch the clip above, via ABC.