NO PLANS TO RUN FOR US PRESIDENT, CONFIRMS OPRAH
Denying speculations of any plans to participate in the US presidential elections of 2020, Oprah Winfrey says that she doesn’t have the disposition for it
Talk show icon Oprah Winfrey has again asserted that she has no intention of running for US president, despite revealing that would-be donors offered to raise $1 billion for her to take on Donald Trump in 2020.
The 64-year-old billionaire prompted a blaze of speculation last month that she might be nurturing political ambitions after a rousing speech at the Golden Globes, heralding a “new day” in the wake of the sexual harassment watershed.
Hollywood’s loathing of Trump and Democrats’ bafflement that a crass-talking reality star with no previous governance experience could win the presidency have fueled talks of, well, why not another TV star, only one with the “right” politics?
“I’m actually humbled by the fact that people think that I could be a leader of the free world, but it’s just not in my spirit. It’s not my DNA,” Winfrey told CBS.
She said her only goal had been to deliver a good speech and that she had been “stunned” by the reaction.
“I had a lot of wealthy men calling, telling me that they would run my campaign and raise $1 billion for me,” Winfrey revealed, adding, “I think that when you have that many people whose opinions you value coming at you, it’s worthy of thinking about.”
However, if Winfrey has not heard a higher call to run for president, neither does she intend to sit on the sidelines.
“I do feel that I have a responsibility, as a person who has a big voice in this country, to use it to promote justice and kindness and goodwill in the world. But it never has felt to me that it was supposed to be political.”
In an interview conducted before the Globes, Winfrey also said she lacked the disposition for a presidential run in 2020. Meanwhile, a poll found that while 64 percent of Americans have a favourable view of Winfrey, only 35 percent wanted her to run in 2020.
I feel that I have a responsibility, as a person with a big voice in this country, to use it to promote justice. But it never felt to me like it was supposed to be political.
OPRAH WINFREY TALK SHOW HOST