The billionaires are lining up for Joe Biden. Starbucks former CEO Howard Schultz announced his endorsement of Biden Monday by letter in which he said that he and his wife Sheri Schultz will vote for the former vice president and donate to his campaign.

This isn’t a surprise, of course, because Schultz is a Democrat. He flirted briefly with his own presidential run this cycle before being smacked by reality – no one is interested in a President Schultz. The far-left, as a matter of fact, threatened a boycott of Starbucks if he jumped into the primary race because he was thinking about running as a third-party candidate. Democrats were concerned he would take votes from the party’s nominee. He hired both Democrat and GOP consultants, Republican grifters like Steve Schmidt and Obama spokesman Bill Burton for example, but his idea was a flash in the pan.

Schultz’s endorsement won’t bring votes to Biden of people looking to the coffee mogul for voting advice but it does signal another billionaire willing to go on the record in support of Biden. This comes on the heels of the story over the weekend that another wannabe president, Michael Bloomberg, pledged $100M of his fortune to get Biden elected, with a concentration on Florida. Schultz hasn’t announced how strong his financial commitment is to Sleepy Joe, though.

When Schultz floated the idea of running for president, he was all about the country over party mantra. He wanted to run as an Independent, though he is a Democrat. So, in his letter announcing his endorsement of Biden, he explained he is calling on Americans to vote “for the future of our republic.” He is playing on the Democrats’ fearmongering that America cannot survive another four years of Donald Trump in the White House. Trump is killing democracy, you know.

“In my view, our choice this November is not just for one candidate over another,” he said in the letter. “We are choosing to vote for the future of our republic.”

“What is at risk is democracy itself: Checks and balances. Rigorous debate. A free press. An acceptance of facts, not ‘alternate facts.’ Belief in science. Trust in the rule of law. A strong judicial system. Unity in preserving all of our rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,” he added.

The former CEO said it was “essential” for Americans to vote in the upcoming election and to do so “safely, whether by mail or in person” amid the coronavirus pandemic. He warned that “it would be a grave miscalculation to think this election is secured for a Biden victory.”

What malarkey. Elections are always about the future of our republic. Joe Biden is the ultimate swamp creature with a nearly 50-year record of doing very little and historically wrong on most policy debates. He may say he is running as a unifier but his campaign is as divisive as Trump’s – in other words, a standard campaign. He offers nothing new or innovative. Schultz was hoping to run on the unity thing, too, but he wasn’t up to the task either.

Schultz cautions that Biden doesn’t have the election in the bag so getting out the vote is important. He also warns that after the election, assuming Biden wins, is not the time for Democrats to seek revenge or adopt far-left policies. That’s adorable, right? Biden will be a figurehead and Kamala Harris and her sisters in The Squad will push policy farther and farther to the left. They will make Barack Obama look like a moderate.

He and his wife support non-partisan initiatives that “defend the legitimacy of our elections and ensure that the winner is not declared in the presidential contest until all votes are tallied.” He sure talks like a politician.

So, this move by Schultz should be seen as a green light to other wealthy voters, encouragement to go ahead and contribute to Biden. This cycle finds Wall Street and the financial industry figures less influential than in previous years.

The financial industry has so far donated $83 million to the 2020 presidential campaigns of Republican President Donald Trump and Democratic candidate Joe Biden, according to Center for Responsive Politics data through July 31.

Although that figure is up 6% from the same period in 2016, the industry’s proportion of overall dollars donated has fallen to 9% from 14%.

“Eight years ago, we were super important. Four years ago, we were very important. And now we are no longer as relevant or important,” said one billionaire hedge fund manager who, like most, spoke on the condition of anonymity to avoid backlash. “I’ve got a lot less influence.”

Wall Street’s influence in elections is waning because its money is not as critical as it once was as grassroots contributions soar. And a harsh political and economic climate makes politicians and bankers want to steer clear of each other.

In today’s political atmosphere, big donors on Wall Street don’t want to call attention to their donations. They get criticized from both the left and the right. It’s unlikely that a nudge from Schultz will change anyone’s mind.