Donald Trump backlash inspires record number of women to run for Congress

As Starbucks boss steps down and hints at
Presidential run

In Depth

More than double the number of women who ran for Congress in
2016 have put their names forward ahead of November’s mid-term
elections, in which Democrats hope to wrest control of Congress
from Trump’s Republican party.

“I definitely think Donald Trump in that election was an
awakening for us,” said Katie Hill, who is running as a Democrat in
a seat held by a Republican for the last 25 years. “I think it made
us realise our status in society is more delicate than a lot of us
realised.

“Now we’ve got this trigger of ‘we can do this’ and ‘we have an
obligation to do this’ there’s more of an unwillingness to sit by
when we’re represented by less than 20% of the people in Congress
being women,” she said.

Sky News says the shift “was evident on the day
after Mr Trump’s inauguration, when the women’s march on Washington
drew the largest single-day protest crowd in US history”.

The president’s past comments and actions towards women,
including multiple allegations of sexual misconduct prompted by the
Access Hollywood tape, which surfaced
weeks before the 2016 election, have mobilised a campaign that has
since been buoyed by the #MeToo movement.

Now it could deliver more women to Congress in a year in which
Democrats are hoping to gain a majority in the House of
Representatives.

Starbucks for President

Long-serving Starbucks boss, Howard Schulz, has said he will
step down later this month after 36 years at the company, and
hinted at a possible presidential run in 2020.

In an interview with The New York Times, Schulz acknowledged that he
may consider a bid for the White House.

“I want to be truthful with you without creating more
speculative headlines,” he said. “For some time now, I have been
deeply concerned about our country — the growing division at home
and our standing in the world.”

Later clarifying his remarks, the 64-year-old said: “I intend to
think about a range of options, and that could include public
service, but I’m a long way from making any decisions about the
future.”

Schultz is “one of the most politically outspoken corporate
leaders in America”, says CNN Money, and has been mentioned before as a
potential Democratic candidate.

Under his reign Starbucks has taken progressive stances on a
range of issues, including gay marriage, immigration and Trump’s
travel ban. Last year, it announced plans to hire 10,000 refugees
over five years.

The Seattle-based company offers healthcare to all full-time and
part-time employees and in March became one of the first major
corporations in the US to announce it had reached gender and race
pay equality.