-The president is facing an independent challenge
from the former C.E.O. of Starbucks
and a tell-all book from a former aide.
For more on this, it's time for "A Closer Look."
[ Cheers and applause ]
President Trump's approval ratings are record lows,
and there are already several prominent Democrats
with serious track records lining up to run against him.
And then, there's Howard Schultz,
the billionaire former C.E.O. of Starbucks.
Schultz has been attacking Democrats,
and says he wants to run a centrist, independent
campaign for president.
And so far, the rollout has been a disaster.
-Former Starbucks C.E.O. Howard Schultz
got an earful from a protester
at a New York City book signing Monday night,
after Schultz said he is seriously considering
a possible Independent run for the White House --
a move that many Democrats fear could split the anti-Trump vote
and help re-elect the president.
-I am seriously considering running for president
as a centrist Independent.
And I wanted to clarify the word "Independent,"
which I view merely as a designation on the ballot.
-Don't help elect Trump,
you egotistical billionaire [bleep]!
-Damn.
[ Cheers and applause ]
It is not good when people are yelling at you
at your first campaign event.
He's like a stand-up comedian who gets heckled
before he's even told a joke.
"How's everybody doing tonight?"
"You suck!"
By the way, that event was at
the Barnes and Noble in Union Square,
which has a Starbucks in it.
He got heckled in one of his own stores.
That's like if the Colonel showed up at KFC
and got his head dunked in the fryer.
[ Laughter ]
There is virtually no appetite for a billionaire businessman
to run for president right now.
I guess somebody really put a stink on that genre.
[ Laughter ]
Running as a billionaire now is like saying,
"We should do a music festival with Ja Rule on an island."
[ Laughter, cheers ]
And instead of making a case for why he should be president,
Schultz has been going after Democrats like Elizabeth Warren,
Kamala Harris, Bernie Sanders,
and even Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
-In order to run as a Democrat today,
you have to fall in line with free Medicare for everybody --
free -- free college for everybody.
I don't think their views represent
the majority of Americans.
I don't think we want a 70% income tax in America.
When I see Elizabeth Warren come out with, you know,
a ridiculous plan of taxing wealthy people a surtax of 2%
because it makes a good headline, or sends out a tweet,
when she knows for a fact that's not something
that's ever gonna be passed -- this is what's wrong.
You just played --
Senator Harris is saying she wants to abolish
the insurance industry.
That's -- That's not correct.
That's not American. What's next?
What industry are we going to abolish next?
The coffee industry?
-No, dude.
There's a difference, for one thing.
You can make coffee at home.
But every time I try to home-brew some insulin,
my lab rat has a seizure.
[ Laughter ]
Seriously, you think people are gonna vote for you?
You over them, because you're the C.E.O. of a coffee company?
Personally, I'm more of a Dunkin' Donuts guy,
but that doesn't mean I'm gonna vote for the C.E.O. --
who I assume is just a drunk guy in a Bruins jersey
chucking snowballs off a highway overpass.
[ Laughter, applause ]
"Check out our cro-sandwiches!"
[ Laughter ]
If Schultz really doesn't like the current Democratic field,
he could just run against them in a Democratic primary.
But he wants to bypass the process
because he thinks he's entitled to it.
That's right -- the guy who ran Starbucks
doesn't want to wait in line.
But Schultz doesn't even seem to know
the basic facts about how elections work.
In an interview on "60 Minutes," for example,
he pledged to get on the ballot in all 50 states.
But then, he said something that made no sense.
-If I decide to run for president,
not only will I be on the ballot of every state --
all 50 states --
but will be on the ballot in every county and every district.
-What?
If you're on the ballot in the state,
you're on the ballot
in every county and district in that state.
Every county and every district isn't a presidential plan.
It's a Starbucks expansion plan.
And we don't want a president who can't separate
his last job from his current job.
This guy was a builder.
Now, all he does is talk about building a wall.
Instead of healthcare, what are you gonna give us?
Cake pops?
[ Laughter ]
So, Schultz's initial rollout has not gone well,
which meant Trump couldn't help but comment on it.
Because when Trump sees someone getting attention
for doing something dumb, he gets jealous,
and does something dumber.
And earlier this week, he attacked Schultz in a tweet.
-"Howard Schultz doesn't have the guts to run for president.
Watched him on '60 Minutes' last night,
and I agree with him that he's not the smartest person.
Besides, America already has that.
I only hope that Starbucks is still paying me their rent
in Trump Tower."
-Okay, first of all -- why would anyone in New York
go to the Starbucks in Trump Tower?
There's two on every block.
That's like going to a Mets game just for the Shake Shack.
The food might be good,
but you've still got to watch the Mets.
Second, Trump just admitted
he still makes money from his businesses.
You're supposed to lie, and say your business is separate.
If Vladimir Putin announced that he was running for president,
Trump would tweet, "I hope he's still paying me bribes."
[ Laughter ]
When Trump sees a grift, he can't help but get in on it,
because he's a life-long grifter.
And the thing about grifters is, they attract other grifters.
That's why Trump's campaign and White House
are filled with scam artists.
His personal lawyer set up a secret slush fund
to take bribes,
his first National Security Adviser
was lobbying for a foreign government on the side,
and his acting Attorney General had a scam company
that helped sell hot tubs.
I'm pretty sure that's how Trump found him.
[ As Trump ] "Hello. I'd like to order a hot tub.
Also, by any chance, are you a lawyer?"
[ Laughter ]
[ Normal voice ] You've got all these grifters
surrounding the president.
And even when they leave, the grift doesn't end.
That's when they try to sell us books
full of inside dirt about the Trump White House.
The latest attempt comes from a guy named Cliff Sims,
who worked in the White House
as Trump's director of message strategy.
His new book about the White House
is called "Team of Vipers."
In the books, Sims reveals details
of Trump's interactions with other Republicans,
like former House Speaker Paul Ryan.
Sims relays a story about what happened
the rare time Ryan said he disagreed with Trump.
Trump called up Ryan, and yelled at him.
-The book also goes on to describe the president
reacting to Ryan distancing himself from Trump
in October 2016,
in the aftermath of the Access Hollywood tape.
Quote, "I remember being in Wisconsin,
and your own people were booing you," Trump told Ryan.
"You were out there dying like a dog, Paul -- like a dog."
-What does Trump have against dogs?
He's always attacking people by saying they were
"fired like dog," or "choked like a dog,"
or they were "begging for money like a dog,"
or they got "kicked out of the ABC News debate like a dog."
Dogs don't...
[ Cheers and applause ]
Dogs don't do any of those things.
And if a dog got up on a stage at a debate with you,
not only would it not get booed, it would probably get elected.
[ Laughter ]
But here's the thing -- Sims still says he was proud
to work for Trump. In fact, he went so far as to say
that Trump doesn't have a racist bone in his body.
If that's the case, it's because he doesn't have
any bones in his body at all.
I mean, look at him.
I didn't think it was possible for someone to look like
a sad version of the Kool-Aid man.
[ Laughter ]
"Oh...no.
Oh, no.
Sorry about you wall."
[ Laughter ]
[ Cheers and applause ]
So, in an interview with the New York this week,
staff writer Isaac Chotiner
asked Sims a very simple question
about Trump's racist crusade
to prove that Barack Obama was not born in America.
But Sims didn't want to answer, because he knew it would
contradict his claim that Trump isn't a racist.
So, the resulting conversation went in circles forever.
Here are some highlights.
"What's your understanding or birtherism?"
"What do you mean?
Like, what do you mean, what's my understanding of it?"
"What the president was doing there."
"I have no idea." "Oh."
"I don't really know what that was all about."
"You are selling yourself as a smart D.C. insider,
and yet, you are telling me here, on the record,
that you have no idea what that was about?
Is that really what you are doing?"
"I know what it was about."
"So, what do you think it was about?"
"I don't know."
"Really? You don't know?"
"I guess I'm confused at what you were asking."
"You keep saying you know what birtherism is about,
but you are not telling me what you think it was about.
So, what do you think it is about?"
"So, I think that's, like, a great example of time
where he does not step up to the plate
and take on these race issues in an appropriate way,
a helpful way, for the country.
No doubt that that was terrible.
I don't know what else you want me to say about it."
"We have been talking for five minutes about this,
and it took you that long to say that?
I mean, geez, I've heard people more comfortable
getting a full cavity search at the airport.
What do you mean,
you're not following the line of questioning?
The question was, 'What is birtherism?'
Were your high-school essays this bad?"
[ Laughter ]
Trump is the most famous grifter in politics.
But like all grifters, he attracts other grifters.
They're just as complicit in his agenda as anyone else,
even though he's an...
-"Egotistical, billionaire [bleep]."
This has been "A Closer Look."
[ Cheers and applause ]