Former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz announced Friday he is no longer considering an independent run for the US presidency, AFP reported.
Schultz said in February he would take “three to four months” before deciding whether to run for president in 2020 and added he would back out if he did not see evidence that he could win.
In a statement on Friday, he said, "I have concluded that an independent campaign for the White House is not how I can best serve our country at this time.”
Schultz, a billionaire, had depicted himself as a business-smart moderate Democrat who criticized what he called the party's excessive shift to the left.
Many in America had said that if he ran, Schultz would benefit President Donald Trump by drawing away votes from whoever the Democratic candidate turns out to be for the 2020 election.
Schultz said on Friday that because of quirks in the US election system, it is likely that the Democratic nominee will not be known before the deadlines for an independent to get on the ballot.
"If I went forward, there is a risk that my name would appear on ballots even if a moderate Democrat wins the nomination, and that is not a risk I am willing to take," he added.
Schultz acknowledged that some Americans fear that backing an independent would help re-elect "a uniquely dangerous incumbent president."
In the 2016 election, Schultz backed Hillary Clinton for president, claiming she had the experience needed to take on the role.
(Arutz Sheva’s North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Arutz Sheva articles, however, is Israeli time.)