News (USA)

Is Oprah going to run for president against Trump in 2020?

Oprah Winfrey
Oprah Winfrey receives the Presidential Medal of Freedom from former president Barack Obama. Photo: Lawrence Jackson

Does Oprah Winfrey have presidential aspirations? It is starting to look like it, as she moves from her decades long stance of laughing off such an idea to seemingly courting it.

The latest development comes in the form of a tweet, fitting right?

Winfrey tweeted a New York Post article by John Podhoretz, headlined, “Democrats’ best hope for 2020: Oprah,” with the comment, “Thanks for your VOTE of confidence!”

In the article, which comes in response to her turn as moderator for a 60 Minutes segment where a panel of Michigan voters discussed and debated their political beliefs and differences, he explains why Winfrey might be the Democratic Party’s best bet to defeat President Trump in 2020:

Listening, asking, speaking without judgment, trying to find common ground — it was a superb performance by Oprah, and I use the word “performance” advisedly. She was dazzling in exactly the way that Oprah could always be dazzling, finding a tone appropriate for the moment without being heavy-handed.

If any figure in the United States bears watching over the next couple of years as our political culture continues the radical transformation that led to the election of Donald Trump, it’s Oprah. I believe she’s uniquely positioned, should she wish to commit herself, to seek the Democratic nomination for president and challenge Trump in 2020.

Winfrey has noticed the change in the times as well, helping to explain her apparent change of heart.

In a recent interview with Bloomberg, she said she always thought she didn’t have the experience necessary to run for the highest office in the land. Suddenly, that view has changed, with the election of Donald Trump.

“I never considered the question even a possibility,” she said.

Bloomberg‘s David Rubenstein pointed out that “it’s clear you don’t need government experience to be elected president of the United States.”

“That’s what I thought,” she said. “I thought, ‘Oh, gee, I don’t have the experience, I don’t know enough.’ And now I’m thinking, ‘Oh.'”

And so far, it looks like she would have a real shot at beating Trump. A poll from Public Policy Polling in March showed she would win in a hypothetical 2020 presidential election 47-40.

Winfrey asked Trump about his political aspirations when he appeared on her show in 1988.

He said a lot of the same things then as he is saying now, but told her he didn’t think he would ever run for president, even if he was confident in his chances were he to change his mind.

Oh, and get this, Trump once told Larry King that if he were to run for president he would pick Oprah to be his running mate.

Naturally, his tone will change if she becomes his opponent. Don’t forget that he had nice things to say about Hillary Clinton once, too.

So, what do you think, would you vote Oprah in 2020?

Don't forget to share:

Support vital LGBTQ+ journalism

Reader contributions help keep LGBTQ Nation free, so that queer people get the news they need, with stories that mainstream media often leaves out. Can you contribute today?

Cancel anytime · Proudly LGBTQ+ owned and operated

Tom Price got fired for cheating taxpayers but screwing over the poor was okay

Previous article

Man convicted of a hate crime in the murder of his gay son

Next article