By Heather Long
WASHINGTON — (CNN) Howard Schultz, the CEO of Starbucks, endorsed Hillary Clinton for president on Wednesday.
Schultz is one of the country’s most politically outspoken chief executives, but until now he had not taken sides in the 2016 race between Democrat Clinton and Republican nominee Donald Trump.
“I think it’s obvious Hillary Clinton needs to be the next president,” Schultz told Poppy Harlow at the first-ever CNNMoney American Opportunity conference in New York. Clinton has the ideal “life experience” and “professional experience” to be president, he said.
Schultz, who calls himself a “life-long Democrat,” endorsed Barack Obama for president in 2008 and again in 2012.
He has only donated to Democrats over the years, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, with the exception of one donation to Republican Senator John McCain in the late 1990s.
The coffee chain CEO also opened the door for his own possible run for the White House one day.
He has repeatedly called the U.S. political process a “circus” and “bombastic.”
“I’m still a young man,” he said Wednesday. At age 63, Schultz is younger than both Clinton and Donald Trump, but he batted away any notion that he’s gunning to run soon.
“I would never say never, but this not the right time,” he said.
On Wednesday, Starbucks unveiled a new series of original videos and stories called “Upstanders.”
The whole purpose is to share positive stories of humanity that contrast “the divisiveness and cynicism currently fueling our national discourse.”
“People cannot believe what is going on in this country,” he said, urging people to vote and take back control of Washington.
“What we have witnessed over the last year is inconsistent with the guiding values and principles of our country.”
Schultz donated heavily to Obama in 2008, but has not given since in presidential campaigns.
He joined with over 100 other CEOs to pledge that he would no longer give money until lawmakers “stop the partisan gridlock in Washington, D.C.”
The Starbucks CEO has a long history of advocating for civic engagement. In a speech to Starbucks shareholders last spring, the billionaire exec said he fears the opportunities that allowed him to achieve his American Dream have fallen out of the grasp of too many people.
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