Possible presidential hopeful Howard Schultz to appear at ASU this week

PHOENIX – Former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz, a possible presidential candidate, will appear at Arizona State University this week as part of a 12-city national book tour.

The event, during which Schultz will take part in a conversation with ASU President Michael M. Crow, is scheduled for 4-6 p.m. Wednesday at the Student Pavilion across from the Memorial Union on the Tempe campus.

Admission is free but attendees must register online. Doors will open at 3 p.m., and seating is on a first-come, first-served basis.

The billionare’s new book, “From the Ground Up: A Journey to Reimagine the Promise of America,” which was released Monday, will be available for purchase at the University Book Store before the event.

The book tour, which was scheduled to kick off Monday in New York, comes on the heels of Schultz’s announcement that he was considering running for president in 2020 as a “centrist independent.”

I love our country, and I am seriously considering running for president as a centrist independent.

— Howard Schultz (@HowardSchultz) January 28, 2019

Schultz, 65, appeared on “60 Minutes” on Sunday to discuss his potential run.

In the interview, Schultz said, “I have a long history of recognizing I’m not the smartest person in the room, that in order to make great decisions about complex problems, I have to recruit and attract people who are smarter than me and more experienced, more skilled.”

The announcement evoked ridicule from President Donald Trump, who agreed on Twitter that Schultz “is not the ‘smartest person’” — along with consternation from Democrats.

Howard Schultz doesn’t have the “guts” to run for President! Watched him on @60Minutes last night and I agree with him that he is not the “smartest person.” Besides, America already has that! I only hope that Starbucks is still paying me their rent in Trump Tower!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 28, 2019

The concern among Democrats was that Schultz, who has donated to Democratic campaigns in the past, would siphon voters away from their candidate.

Among those urging him not to run as an independent were David Axelrod, the former adviser to President Barack Obama, and Tina Podlodowski, the Democratic Party chairwoman in Washington state, where Schultz has lived for decades.

Schultz has been mentioned as a potential candidate many times before, and he’s done little to quell speculation about his presidential ambitions since saying when he retired from Starbucks last June that his future could include “public service.”

According to Schultz’s website, the new book tells his story about growing up in public housing in Brooklyn, New York, as well as his effort “to challenge the traditional role of business in society” while helping Starbucks become the world’s largest coffee shop chain.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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