Castro: Third-party bid by Schultz ‘would provide Donald Trump with his best hope of getting reelected’

Former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro (D) on Sunday urged Starbucks founder Howard Schultz to reconsider running as an independent candidate for president in 2020.

Schultz “would provide Donald Trump with his best hope of getting reelected,” Castro said on CNN’s “State of the Union.”

“I would suggest to Mr. Schultz to truly think about the negative impact that would make.”

{mosads}Castro pointed to a recent poll showing Trump trailing likely 2020 Democratic candidates as proof that Trump is the underdog in the upcoming election.

The Public Policy Polling survey did not poll Trump against Castro, who announced he is exploring a presidential run earlier this month.

“[Trump’s] only hope, if things stay the same, is to get a third-party [candidate] to siphon off votes,” Castro said.

Schultz told CBS News’s “60 Minutes” in an interview airing late Sunday that both political parties are engaged in “revenge politics” and that is why he’s considering a third-party bid.