Citizens Demand Oprah Run for President, 7 Words From Celeb Confirm It All
While fans and critics alike have speculated in the wake of Oprah Winfrey’s rousing Golden Globes acceptance speech about the possibility that she might stage a 2020 presidential bid, the media mogul suggested in a recent interview that she does not “have the DNA” necessary for such a campaign.
Winfrey, who recently joined the lineup of hosts on the CBS newsmagazine “60 Minutes,” revealed during an interview for an upcoming issue of InStyle that she is not interested in running for president.
Though she made the comments prior to the Golden Globes remarks that sparked widespread rumors on the subject, she has long been the subject of such speculation.
InStyle’s Laura Brown brought up the topic, asking Winfrey for her reaction to those calling for her to take on President Donald Trump in two years.
“I’ve always felt very secure and confident with myself in knowing what I could do and what I could not,” she replied. “And so it’s not something that interests me.”
Winfrey acknowledged her supporters have become more direct in their endorsements.
“I actually saw a mug the other day,” she said, joking that it was a “cute mug” and put her on track to stage a White House bid.
“All you need is a mug and some campaign literature and a T-shirt,” she said.
In reality, though, Winfrey said she does not believe she is cut out for the position.
“I don’t have the DNA for it,” she said.
Winfrey referenced her longtime best friend Gayle King in discussing the frequency of individuals urging her to throw her hat in the ring.
“Gayle — who knows me as well as I know myself practically — has been calling me regularly and texting me things, like a woman in the airport saying, ‘When’s Oprah going to run?'” Winfrey said.
“So Gayle sends me these things, and then she’ll go, ‘I know, I know, I know! It wouldn’t be good for you — it would be good for everyone else.’ I met with someone the other day who said that they would help me with a campaign.”
Nevertheless, she said — at the time of the interview, at least — that she did not feel called to run.
“That’s not for me,” she said.
In the wake of Winfrey’s speech upon receiving the Cecil B. DeMille award earlier this month, however, others close to her seemed to indicate she has been giving the idea increasing consideration.
Her partner of many years suggested she would run if voters demanded she enter the race, the Los Angeles Times reported.
“It’s up to the people,” Stedman Graham said. “She would absolutely do it.”
Her wide-ranging interview with InStyle included thoughts on a number of topics, including her frank assessment of growing older.
“In your 40s you want to say you take no s—, but you still do,” she said. “In your 60s you take none. There’s both a quickening and a calming — there’s a sense that you don’t have as much time on earth as you once did. For me, there’s also a sense of calming about that.”
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