Oprah may run for the presidency
OPRAH Winfrey is said to be “actively considering” a run for the White House, after delivering a powerful and widely praised speech at the Golden Globes.
Moments after the 63-year-old entrepreneur and billionaire made the speech in Los Angeles – an address about confronting racial and gender inequality – social media lit up with hashtags declaring #Oprah2020.
At the event, Ms Winfrey said she had no plan to run for the White House. Yet her partner, Stedman Graham, told the LA Times: “It’s up to the people. She would absolutely do it.”
On Monday morning local time, CNN said the celebrity was “actively thinking” about a run, according to two of her close friends who requested anonymity. Some of her confidants had been privately urging her to run, the sources said.
CNN said its sources said the conversations with Ms Winfrey dated back several months.
One source emphasised the star had not made up her mind about running.
Ironically, the ascension of Mr Trump to the White House – he is the first US president in modern history without either governing or military experience – may have made it easier for Ms Winfrey to run.
The celebrity businesswoman and television personality has always played down a political future.
She did so again on Sunday – after delivering a speech that promised “a new day” for women – saying “I don’t” when asked by Bloomberg News if she had a plan to run.
It is not the first time Ms Winfrey’s name has been associated with a White House bid.
She supported both Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, and amid the 2016 election drama, Donald Trump suggested she ought to be his running mate – a suggestion she did not appear to take seriously.
Ms Winfrey – the Oprah Winfrey Network founder, former talk show host, actress, film and TV producer, and humanitarian – received multiple standing ovations at the awards.