In online ad, Howard Schultz says 'majority of Americans are Americans'

A new Facebook ad from possible 2020 presidential candidate Howard Schultz gained attention online over a line saying “the majority of Americans are Americans.”

Schultz, who has said he may run as a centrist independent, has based his potential candidacy on a message of nonpartisanship. Schultz has taken socially liberal and fiscally conservative positions, insisting that both Republicans and Democrats are too extreme to govern. The former Starbucks chairman and billionaire businessman has made the national debt a central issue of his possible run.

In the Facebook ad, Schultz writes: “The majority of Americans aren’t Democrats or Republicans, the majority of Americans are Americans.”

The line drew mockery online from observers who thought the statement that most Americans are American was rather obvious.

When being rich is considered a qualification, you have the wrong qualification. “The majority of Americans are Americans” is just the right level of dumb. This is along the lines of “the ceiling is the roof,” but at least that billionaire isn’t running for president. https://t.co/ykKfyVnzBz

— Quisto Settle (@QuistoSettle) April 21, 2019

During a contentious interview with MSNBC’s Ali Velshi and Stephanie Ruhle earlier this month, Schultz said he was “cautiously optimistic” about running for president.

A representative for Schultz did not immediately respond to a request for comment from NBC News.

Allan Smith

Allan Smith is a political reporter for NBC News.