Was it something he said?
On Tuesday night, as Washington journalists talked about how bored to death they were of CNN’s town hall with Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz, Fox News’s Laura Ingraham reeled in the ratings.
“Has anyone ever been this annoying?” asked New York Mag’s Olivia Nuzzi on Twitter.
“If he could just smile more,” cracked The Bulwark‘s Sally Jong-Fast.
[Insert triple shot expresso coffee joke here.]
Schultz didn’t just depress viewers with his boring factor, he also raised eyebrows by saying he doesn’t see color. To be sure, President Trump has already trolled the possible candidate. (RELATED: Schultz Takes Numerous Digs At Trump)
When asked about a racial profiling incident at a Starbucks, he said, “As somebody who grew up in a very diverse background as a young boy in the projects, I didn’t see color as a young boy and I honestly don’t see color now.”
Adam Parkhomenko, a Democratic strategist and adviser to Hillary Clinton, apparently didn’t like what he heard. “Howard Schultz said he doesn’t see color,” he tweeted. “Motherfucker apparently can’t see polling data either.”
Back to those pesky ratings, “The Ingraham Angle” toppled the Schultz town hall, ranking number one with over 2.5 million viewers and 464K in the coveted younger demo market.
According to early Nielson Market Research, CNN’s town hall with the Starbucks CEO crashed in third place.
Some observers wondered why Schultz warranted a town hall in the first place.
Cue up NYU’s geeky journalism prof Jay Rosen, who sought help from CNN’s Brian Stelter: “@brianstelter I know you’re always looking for ideas for @ReliableSources. Here’s one. Invite the relevant CNN executive to explain: why a town hall for Howard Schultz? Has he declared? No. Does he have a vast network of support? He does not. Is he polling well? Nope… Then why?”
New York Mag Business Columnist Josh Barro also couldn’t comprehend why Schultz earned the hoopla of a town hall.
“I will be interested to see how the Howard Schultz town hall rates,” he wrote. “Why does he get a town hall? Probably because he’s controversial and controversy is interesting. That is, Democrats feeling white hot rage at him: This is your fault, you’re why CNN thinks people would watch.”