Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz said he was “stunned” by Donald Trump’s improbable presidential victory but wants to give him a chance to lead.
{mosads}In a public letter to his company on Wednesday, Schultz said “we must honor the democratic process” and give the president-elect “the opportunity to govern well and bring our country together.”
“Whether you are pleased or disappointed by the outcome, we each still have a choice,” he wrote. “Today and every day, we have a choice in how we treat one another in our homes, in our neighborhoods, and of course in our stores.”
Schultz was a vocal opponent of Trump and endorsed Democrat Hillary Clinton in September, blasting the then-GOP nominee’s “divisiveness” as wrong for the country.
“We’ve seen such vitriolic display of bigotry and hate and divisiveness, and that is not the leadership we need for the future of the country,” he said about Trump, according to Business Insider.
But his post-election letter urged people to move beyond the rhetoric of the campaign.
“We cannot know what the precise impact will be on our country and the rest of the world,” he wrote. “I am hopeful that we will overcome the vitriol and division of this unprecedented election season.”