Billionaire Howard Schultz, who’s considering a 2020 run for president as an independent, says he left the Democratic party because he claims it’s too far left.
In the last couple of days, the former CEO of Starbucks has shown the level of his discontent.
During a Tuesday appearance on NPR’s “Morning Edition, Schultz criticized the tax proposal of Massachusetts Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who’s seeking her party’s nomination to run for president.
Warren wants a 2% annual tax on Americans with a net worth of more than $50 billion, which Schultz said is “ridiculous.” He accused the senator of proposing the tax simply for a “good headline.”
Warren fired back on Twitter. “What’s ‘ridiculous’ is billionaires who think they can buy the presidency to keep the system rigged for themselves while opportunity slips away for everyone else,” the senator tweeted.
Schultz also took aim at California Democratic Senator and 2020 presidential candidate Kamala Harris‘ proposal to eliminate private health insurance.
“That’s not correct, that’s not American. What’s next? What industry are we going to abolish next?” Schultz said Tuesday on “CBS This Morning.”
Schultz also criticized New York Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s proposal for a 70% marginal tax rate. He called her “a bit misinformed” and “un-American.”
“I don’t think we want a 70% income tax in America,” Schultz said, in an interview Monday night with CNBC, when he lamented that he’s no longer a Democrat “because I don’t know their views represent the majority of Americans.”
However, two recent polls show most Americans support raising the highest tax rate to 70%. A Hill-HarrisX survey conducted on Jan. 12 and Jan. 13 found that 59% of registered U.S. voters support the tax increase. Another poll conducted by Fox News last week concluded that 70% of registered voters support raising taxes on families with an annual income of more than $10 million.
