Fox News plans to host a town hall for Starbucks head Howard Schultz focusing on his potential presidential run and the issues he would tackle. | Joe Raedle/Getty Images 2020 Elections Fox News hosting town hall with Howard Schultz

He may not yet be a 2020 presidential candidate, but Fox News is already treating former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz like one, complete with his own town hall event scheduled for next month.

Fox News anchors Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum will host the event, which is scheduled for for April 4 in Kansas City, Missouri, the network announced Tuesday. The town hall event will focus on “Schultz’s potential candidacy and the issues he plans to tackle,” Fox News said.


Schultz sparked a wave of criticism from the left earlier this year when he announced he would explore a possible run for president as a centrist, independent candidate.

In touting his potential bid, Schultz trashed the Democratic Party, of which he was previously a member, criticizing its lurch to the left in recent years. He argued that he could garner the votes of centrist Democratic and Republican voters unhappy with President Donald Trump but uncomfortable with voting for a liberal Democrat.

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Democrats immediately warned that Schultz's candidacy could siphon off votes from their eventual nominee and hand Trump a second term in the White House.

The former coffee mogul has faced criticism for a relatively light set of defined policy proposals relative to the dozen-plus Democratic candidates who have already announced runs. Some of his announced plans for governing across the aisle have been dismissed as unrealistic.

The former coffee mogul has repeatedly insisted that he has a viable path to victory as an independent candidate next year, but has vowed to mull over his potential candidacy to ensure a third-party run wouldn’t aid Trump’s reelection.

CNN hosted a town hall event with Schultz in February, drawing criticism from the left for giving airtime to someone who hadn't announced his candidacy yet. Some drew parallels between him and Trump, citing both men's wealth and lack of political experience and the deluge of free media Trump got during the 2016 election.

Schultz’s town hall next month will be Fox News’ first of the 2020 cycle, and it comes weeks after the Democratic National Committee rejected its request to host a Democratic primary debate, citing its ties to Trump.