Starbucks CEO warns the U.S. presidential elections are turning into a 'circus'

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Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz has warned that the U.S. presidential election is turning into a 'circus'.

The coffee giant's top boss, who has been very outspoken on political issues in the past, criticized the debates for descending into farce as he denounced the candidates for making 'disrespectful' and 'bombastic attacks' on each other.

'I think it's turned into something none of us has ever seen before, which I would label as almost a circus,' reported Fortune.com.

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Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz (pictured last year) has warned that the U.S. presidential election is turning into a 'circus'

Schultz's comments, at an open forum at Starbucks' Carson Valley Roasting Plant in Nevada, follow the six-way shouting fest at last weekend's Republican debate in Greenville, South Carolina.

The GOP-sponsored event was such a 'train wreck' that even some Republicans were burying their heads in their hands. 

The colorful debate saw Trump renewing his attacks on Ted Cruz as 'vicious' and 'the biggest liar' as the two traded insults and the billionaire claimed the senator was trying to sabotage his campaign.

Cruz claimed on stage in Greenville, South Carolina that 'for most of his life,' Trump 'has described himself as very pro-choice, and as a supporter of partial birth abortion.' 

'You are the single biggest liar!' Trump boomed back. 'You are probably worse than Jeb Bush!'

Schultz's comments, at an open forum at Starbucks' Carson Valley Roasting Plant in Nevada, follow the six-way shouting fest at last weekend's debates in Greenville, South Carolina (pictured)

It was actor Samuel L. Jackson who suggested Donald Trump was 'more P.T. Barnum than politician' (pictured is a painting of the famous circus founder)

Trump was later booed when he began discussing 9/11 and the war in Iraq - questioning how rival Jeb Bush could point to his brother's administration and suggest that the country was safe during the Bush years. 

In another set of vicious attacks, Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio traded slights over immigration. 

Saturday's debate was widely panned as a 'train wreck' and the Democratic National Committee gleefully passed around tweets from Republicans mocking their own party's candidates.

Yet, while some suggested that last night's messy Republican debate was a win for the Democrats, Trump said he knew who the real winner was – and it was him.

'I thought this might have been my best performance,' Trump told CBS' John Dickerson, who moderated the debate, for this morning's episode of Face the Nation.

Schultz did not mention individual candidates in his damning criticism of the run up to the U.S. presidential election.

But there is at least one Republican who may not be offended by the comparison of debates to a 'circus.'

Last month Trump welcomed a comparison by actor Samuel L. Jackson, between him and  P.T. Barnum - founder of the famous Barnum & Bailey Circus, known as the Greatest Show on Earth, and often credited with coining the phrase: 'There's a sucker born every minute.'

Saturday's GOP-sponsored event was such a 'train wreck' that even some Republicans were burying their heads in their hands 

The real estate mogul, who has previously been called the 'Kim Kardashian of politics' and the 'Music Man' of the race, said he viewed the comparison to Barnum as a compliment. 

'We need P.T. Barnum, a little bit, because we have to build up the image of our country,' Trump said at a Meet the Press event. 'We have to be a cheerleader for our country, we don't have a cheerleader.'

It is not the first time the Starbucks CEO has waded into the world of U.S. politics.

Last March, Schultz was forced to defend the company's much-ridiculed 'Race Together' campaign after it was ruthlessly mocked online.

The campaign encouraged workers to write 'Race Together' on cups and strike up conversations about race as they serve customers their coffee. The company also prepared a guide with questions to pose, such as: 'How have your racial views evolved from those of your parents?'

But the move was met with such a fierce backlash from people who accused the coffee chain of using racial tensions to boost its bottom line, that it swiftly dropped the move. 

Many had mocked the campaign online, with one user tweeted: 'I don't have time to explain 400 years of oppression to you & still make my train.'

Last March, Schultz was forced to defend the company's much-ridiculed 'Race Together' campaign after it was ruthlessly mocked online 

Inserting itself into national issues is not new territory for Starbucks Corp.

In late 2012, the chain asked workers to write 'Come together' on cups to send a message to lawmakers about stalled budget negotiations.

And in 2013, the chain placed newspaper ads saying that firearms were not welcome in its cafes after they became the site of gun rallies. But the company stopped short of an outright ban.

Schultz said at the time that Starbucks was neither for nor against guns, underscoring that even a company that wants a voice in national conversations has to be careful about alienating customers.

While the company's foray into the political sphere has often been met with criticism, the CEO dismissed the idea that Starbucks should skirt difficult issues, saying the firm should 'elevate the discourse'.

'People have said well, your role is to create shareholder value and profits, not to use Starbucks as a political tool,' he told Fortune. 'It's none of that. It's my grave concern about where the country is and asking myself what we can do.'