Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez fires back at Howard Schultz for slamming her tax plan

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz is out of his league running for president and wondered why citizens don’t remind “billionaires who want to run for president that they need to ‘work their way up.'”

“Why don’t people ever tell billionaires who want to run for President that they need to ‘work their way up’ or that ‘maybe they should start with city council first?'” Ocasio-Cortez, 29, tweeted Tuesday, sharing an article in which the hopeful independent 2020 presidential candidate questioned her proposed tax plan.

On Sunday, Schultz, who made his $3.4 billion fortune by changing “the way millions of people drink coffee, gave Twitter a surprise.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez shot back at former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz, who announced his interest in running for president in 2020, for slamming her proposed tax plan. (Photos; Getty Images)
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez shot back at former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz, who announced his interest in running for president in 2020, for slamming her proposed tax plan. (Photos; Getty Images)

“I love our country, and I am seriously considering running for president as a centrist independent,” he wrote, adding, “This moment is like no other. Our two parties are more divided than ever. Let’s discuss how we can come together to create opportunities for more people.”

Schultz’s tweet was a bombshell, upsetting people who think an independent candidate would take away Democratic votes, resulting in the reelection of President Trump. Schultz challenged those worries on Monday night during a CNBC interview, knocking Ocasio-Cortez.

“I respect the Democratic Party. I no longer feel affiliated because I don’t know their views represent the majority of Americans. I don’t think we want a 70 percent income tax in America,” he said about Ocasio-Cortez’s January suggestion that those who earn $10 million per year should be taxed heavily to pay for a “Green New Deal” to fight climate change.

“That doesn’t mean all $10 million are taxed at an extremely high rate, but it means that as you climb up this ladder, you should be contributing more,” she told Anderson Cooper in January.

In her Wednesday tweet, Ocasio-Cortez also swiped at opponents who claimed her résumé as a bartender and waitress wasn’t sufficient to run for Congress, despite her historic win in June, unseating long-term U.S. Democratic Rep. Joe Crowley of New York City.

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