Democrats are not too happy that former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz is considering a run for the presidency as an independent. Fearing this action would help reelect President Trump, Neera Tanden, President of the Center for American Progress, has called for a boycott of Starbucks if he throws his hat in the ring.

Vanity projects that help destroy democracy are disgusting. If he enters the race, I will start a Starbucks boycott because I’m not giving a penny that will end up in the election coffers of a guy who will help Trump win. https://t.co/epUYVrcEg8

— Neera Tanden (@neeratanden) January 26, 2019

In the CNN video below, an angry heckler at a Schultz event in NY shouts: “Don’t help elect Trump, you egotistical, billionaire a**hole.”

Here's the video. A heckler shouts at Howard Schultz during an event in New York: "Don't help elect Trump, you egotistical, billionaire asshole." Via CNN pic.twitter.com/oabwfNnsmp

— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) January 29, 2019

Zerohedge’s Tyler Durden reports that former NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg warned Schultz not to run as an independent, writing on Monday that he had to make the same decision in 2016 when he was considering running for office.” Bloomberg wrote:

I faced exactly the same decision now facing others who are considering it. The data was very clear and very consistent. Given the strong pull of partisanship and the realities of the electoral college system, there is no way an independent can win.

In 2020, the great likelihood is that an independent would just split the anti-Trump vote and end up re-electing the President. That’s a risk I refused to run in 2016 and we can’t afford to run it now. We must remain united, and we must not allow any candidate to divide or fracture us. The stakes couldn’t be higher.

2020 candidate Julian Castro, in an appearance on CNN’s State of the Union, also weighed in.  “I have a concern that, if he did run, that, essentially, it would provide Donald Trump with his best hope of getting reelected. I would suggest to Mr. Schultz to truly think about the negative impact that that might make.”

Buzzfeed’s Alexis Levinson asked Schultz if he would “drop out if polls showed you would help Trump win?”

He responded by saying: “If I decide to run for pres as an independent, I will believe, and I will have the conviction and courage to believe, that I will win…I certainly will not do anything to put DT back in the Oval Office.”

But that is precisely what Schultz would be doing.

Q: Would you drop out if polls showed you would help Trump win?

Schultz: "If I decide to run for pres as an independent, I will believe, and I will have the conviction and courage to believe, that I will win…I certainly will not do anything to put DT back in the Oval Office."

— Alexis Levinson (@alexis_levinson) January 29, 2019

Democrats are right to be concerned about Schultz’ run as an independent. It would indeed be a gift to Donald Trump.

Run Schultz, run!