Oprah For President: 5 Things People Are Saying About The Idea

NEW YORK, NY — Oprah Winfrey for president? After delivering an impassioned speech at the Golden Globes on racism and mistreatment of women, the star has become the center of fervent speculation about a potential bid for the American presidency. The prospect has been raised in the press before, but CNN reports that Winfrey is now seriously considering a challenge to President Trump, according to her friends.

While it's easy to write off the notion as ungrounded hype, remember that Donald Trump ambitions were initially discounted by most observers. And Winfrey boasts many of the features that helped Trump's seemingly improbable campaign succeed – national name recognition, demonstrated financial and business success and celebrity built on a commanding presence.

So will it happen? No one but the woman herself can know for sure what her intentions are, but that won't stop her many fans — or detractors — from exploring the idea.

Here's what people are saying:

1. Oprah

You won't see an Oprah 2020 ad anytime soon. Even for a conventional candidate, an actual campaign announcement wouldn't be likely to come for at least another year. And so far, Winfrey's comments are pretty equivocal.

Asked by Bloomberg whether she has plans to run, she said, "I don't, I don't." To The Los Angeles Times, she gave a more playful answer: "Okaay!" But according to CNN, her friends said she is "actively thinking" about a presidential bid.

In early 2017, Winfrey had suggested she was thinking about the idea in light of Trump's election. "I never considered the question even a possibility," she said on Bloomberg TV. "I thought, 'oh gee, I don't have the experience, I don't know enough.' And now I'm thinking, 'oh. Oh.'"

2. Sean Spicer

Former White House Press Secretary suggested on UK TV show "Good Morning Britain" that her lack of involvement in politics would be a liability.

“She doesn’t have the political infrastructure,” he said. “And we’ve seen this before in our history, where people who have tried to pop in who are not in politics and have had a difficult time adjusting.”

The comment drew guffaws from the show's hosts, who pointed out that Trump came from a very similar position.

3. Trump

The president has yet to comment on the speculation about an Oprah ticket. But in the past, he's heaped praise on the TV star.

"By the way, where is @Oprah? Good question. 4 years ago she strongly supported Obama--now she is silent. Anyway, who cares, I adore Oprah," he tweeted in October 2012.

And in April 2012: "Oprah will end up doing just fine with her network--she knows how to win."

4. Harry Enten

Data journalist Harry Enten at FiveThirtyEight, which specializes in election forecasting, suggested Winfrey's chances may be better than detractors suspect.

"You could do a lot worse than the favorability ratings Oprah Winfrey posted last year," he tweeted. "In fact, she's quite popular."

He noted, however, that positive polling can be a fickle thing, and a campaign could change those numbers rapidly.

"If there is not a poll with Oprah in a Dem primary and general election by the end of the week, I will be surprised and somewhat disappointed," he added.

5. Sen. Brian Schatz

The Democratic senator from Hawaii didn't mention Winfrey by name, but he was clearly referencing all the rampant presidential speculation when he tweeted Monday: "Hey. Let’s focus on winning in 2018. Thanks."

BONUS: Ivanka Trump

In a surprising move, the president's eldest daughter tweeted out support for Winfrey's speculation-inducing speech. Given the widespread assumption that Winfrey — a former supporter of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton — would run as a Democrat against her father, some in the commentariat expressed disbelief at her full-throated endorsement. Ivanka Trump also echoed Winfrey's "time's up" comment from the speech in reference to male sexual abusers. This again inspired disbelief, given that many interpreted the call out to apply to none less than the president himself.

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