Main Pop Girl Posted January 9, 2018 Share Posted January 9, 2018 Quote Oprah Winfrey is "actively thinking" about running for president, two of her close friends told CNN Monday. The two friends, who requested anonymity in order to speak freely, talked in the wake of Winfrey's extraordinary speech at the Golden Globes Sunday night, which spurred chatter about a 2020 run. One of the sources said these conversations date back several months. The person emphasized that Winfrey has not made up her mind about running. The Democratic race for president won't officially begin until after the 2018 midterms, but many potential candidates are already jostling for position and making trips to Iowa. "President Winfrey" was the talk of the entertainment world after Winfrey accepted the Cecil B. DeMille Award at the Golden Globes. And the "Oprah for president?" possibility was a top story on morning TV. The touchstone of her speech was the #MeToo movement. But her hopeful message -- "A new day is on the horizon" -- could have doubled as a campaign rallying cry. Many liberal-leaning celebrities and viewers certainly heard it that way. And that may have been exactly what Winfrey wanted. As some political strategists have pointed out in the past year, her fame and wealth could make her a formidable Democratic Party candidate. But insiders have their doubts too: Would Americans really choose a TV star as president twice in a row? Winfrey has deflected questions about a presidential run in the past, but she has also acknowledged that President Trump's election upended assumptions about how to pursue political office. After the speech, Winfrey's longtime partner Stedman Graham was quoted saying a run is a possibility. "It's up to the people," Graham told a Los Angeles Times reporter. "She would absolutely do it." Winfrey campaigned for Barack Obama in 2008 and endorsed Hillary Clinton in 2016. During Clinton's campaign, she discussed the prospect of a female president and said "America, it's about time that we made that decision." She said it would be a "seminal moment for women." But the moment has yet to happen -- which is one of the reasons Sunday's speech stirred so much attention. Reese Witherspoon alluded to her friend's superstar status while introducing her at the Globes: "There's only one person whose name is a verb, an adjective, and a feeling. And that is Oprah." What she lacks is political experience. In an interview with Winfrey on Bloomberg last March, interviewer David Rubenstein broached the possibility, saying "It's clear you don't need government experience to be elected president of the United States." She indicated that the same thought had crossed her mind after Trump's election: "I thought, 'Oh gee, I don't have the experience, I don't know enough.' And now I'm thinking, 'Oh. Oh!'" When interviewed, Winfrey sometimes stokes 2020 speculation, but other times she shoots down the idea. When her best friend Gayle King brought up the idea on "CBS This Morning" last October, Winfrey dismissed it: "There will be no running for office of any kind for me." Right now Winfrey has multiple jobs. She's the CEO of the cable channel OWN, a "special correspondent" for the CBS newsmagazine "60 Minutes" and an investor in companies like Weight Watchers. Winfrey recently sold part of her stake in OWN but renewed her contract to remain CEO through 2025. It would be relatively easy to step aside from OWN for a presidential campaign. The Washington Post quoted Meryl Streep saying that Winfrey "launched a rocket" with the speech. "I want her to run for president," Streep told The Post. "I don't think she had any intention [of declaring]. But now she doesn't have a choice." Earlier in the evening, Globes host Seth Meyers actually teed up the speculation. "Oprah," Meyers said, looking out at her in the audience, "in 2011, I told some jokes about our current president at the White House Correspondents Dinner -- jokes about how he was unqualified to be president -- and some have said that night convinced him to run. So if that's true, I just want to say: Oprah, you will never be president! You do not have what it takes!" From "The Oprah Winfrey Show" to her films and book club selections, Winfrey has promoted inspiration and unity. In fact, that's been the focus of her occasional "60 Minutes" segments. Her first story was a focus group with both Trump and Clinton voters. Winfrey asked them: "By the time of the next presidential election, are we more likely to have come together? Will we have sought common ground?" Thoughts on this? Would Oprah really run for president? And if she did, is there any chance that she as a black woman could actually get the job? Stranger things have happened I guess, just look at Trump! Let me know your thoughts sisters! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
choke Posted January 9, 2018 Share Posted January 9, 2018 No... Keep it... 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coolaideonfire Posted January 10, 2018 Share Posted January 10, 2018 I mean, if celebrity candidates are going to be a thing now, I'd prefer Oprah over Donald Trump any day! But I do think a regular candidate, with real political experience, would be best for the USA after this dumpster fire of a presidency. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Main Pop Girl Posted January 13, 2018 Author Share Posted January 13, 2018 On 1/11/2018 at 4:01 AM, coolaideonfire said: I mean, if celebrity candidates are going to be a thing now, I'd prefer Oprah over Donald Trump any day! But I do think a regular candidate, with real political experience, would be best for the USA after this dumpster fire of a presidency. I've gotta agree with you there! Really, the Democratic party should go for a Justin Trudeau type - someone who's young, media savvy, relatable, likeable and who can represent a change in the way the system works. Bernie had most of those things but he was too old for people to pay attention too... 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Celebration09 Posted January 23, 2018 Share Posted January 23, 2018 Im all in for this. You get one I get one everyone gets one. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MATDTrades Posted January 23, 2018 Share Posted January 23, 2018 On 9/1/2018 at 8:51 AM, choke said: No... Keep it... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Main Pop Girl Posted January 25, 2018 Author Share Posted January 25, 2018 On 1/24/2018 at 7:16 AM, Celebration09 said: Im all in for this. You get one I get one everyone gets one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mary Jane Holland Posted January 31, 2018 Share Posted January 31, 2018 Everyone wants people like Oprah or Gaga to be president ( ) but don't realise, that they won't be able to carry on the jobs they do now 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Main Pop Girl Posted February 10, 2018 Author Share Posted February 10, 2018 On 01/02/2018 at 7:39 AM, MelaniesPlayground said: Everyone wants people like Oprah or Gaga to be president ( ) but don't realise, that they won't be able to carry on the jobs they do now Gaga barely does any work nowadays anyway and Oprah's been irrelevant since she started her own network, so I don't think we'd be missing out on much tbh... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mary Jane Holland Posted February 10, 2018 Share Posted February 10, 2018 Just now, Countess said: Gaga barely does any work nowadays anyway and Oprah's been irrelevant since she started her own network, so I don't think we'd be missing out on much tbh... Fair points 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imbaby Posted February 26, 2018 Share Posted February 26, 2018 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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