Hot off the idea of running for President in 2020 as an independent, former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz was on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” and one of the big topics that came up was… Cheerios. This kind of question has been used repeatedly in politics, whether it be Mitt Romney, Donald Trump, or George H.W. Bush. It’s designed to make the person seem out of touch with the American people, and Schultz failed. He responded with “I don’t eat Cheerios, I’m sorry,” which I believe is a fair response, but then he followed it up with “That’s a lot” when told an 18-ounce box costs $4. Unfortunately, an answer like that leads to headlines like “Billionaire Howard Schultz doesn’t know the cost of a box of Cheerios.” Schultz gave them the answer they wanted, the answer that fit in with their agenda.
This is an example of agenda setting or prioritizing certain news stories to influence the public. In this case, MSNBC is pushing the narrative that Howard Schultz is out of touch with the American people. Since Schultz gave them the answer they wanted they could push their agenda further by writing an article about it, which can be seen through the headline. The average American is not a millionaire, let alone a billionaire, yet Cheerios is America’s most popular breakfast cereal. With a headline like this, MSNBC can influence the American people that Schultz is in fact out of touch with the American people. But, is asking him about Cheerios really the end all about this question?
Yes, Schultz is not entirely in touch with the American people, what billionaire is? On one hand Schultz is a billionaire today, but he wasn’t always. Schultz grew up in Southeastern Brooklyn, not exactly the nicest area. He was able to get out of there with a football scholarship to Northern Michigan in 1970 and graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in communication in 1975. Eventually, he would have a vision for a small Seattle operation called Starbucks Coffee Tea and Spice Company, which only sold coffee beans at the time and didn’t even want to sell coffee until Schultz came in. Eventually, Schultz would buy Starbucks, become the CEO, and turn it into a company that made 24.72 billion dollars in revenue in 2017.
Schultz is a billionaire and unlike most Americans, but he wasn’t always that way. Schultz grew up in a rougher neighborhood but escaped it and made a name for himself. So, can he relate to the average American? I believe so.