Donald Trump said on Tuesday he could beat Oprah Winfrey in a presidential race, while one of Winfrey’s closest friends said the media mogul and actor was “intrigued” by the possibility of running but was not considering it now.
Speculation about a 2020 White House bid by Winfrey blew up on social media and news outlets after her rousing speech at the Golden Globes awards show on Sunday night, which touched on female and black empowerment, her roots in poverty and support of those who speak up about sexual abuse and harassment.
But some media commentators also injected skepticism into the surge of excitement among fans of the former talk show star, saying the Democratic Party and the country might well reject the notion of another celebrity political novice following Trump’s 2016 election.
Winfrey, long associated with Democratic politics and fundraising, has not commented publicly on the speculation. Known to millions by her first name, Winfrey, 63, has been a cultural force in the country for decades.
Trump, speaking with reporters during a White House meeting with lawmakers, said in response to a question: “Yeah, I’ll beat Oprah. Oprah would be a lot of fun.
“I know her very well. I like Oprah. I don’t think she’s going to run.”
Winfrey confidante Gayle King said earlier on Tuesday there was no change in Winfrey’s past position – that she is not interested in running for president.
“I do think she’s intrigued by the idea, I do think that,” King said on the CBS This Morning show. “I also know that after years of watching The Oprah (Winfrey) Show you always have the right to change your mind. I don’t think at this point she’s actually considering it.”
However, CNN, citing two of Winfrey’s close friends, reported on Monday that the television and movie producer and actress was actively thinking about a White House bid.
Winfrey has raised millions of dollars for various causes, including shelters for battered women but, like Trump when he launched his White House campaign, she has no prior experience in government. Trump, a businessman and former reality TV star, based part of his appeal on the fact he was truly not a Washington insider.
“NOPRAH! Do we really need another celebrity president?” read the front page of Tuesday’s New York Post. A critique in Slate on Monday was headlined “Oprah? Really?” and bemoaned the “impossibly boring” current crop of major political figures, making people more likely to vote for celebrities like Trump or Winfrey.
However, the increasingly surreal edge to the debate was only exacerbated on Tuesday afternoon when White House press secretary Sarah Sanders weighed in and referred mysteriously to Winfrey’s “policies”.
It is not clear whether politics ingenue and non-candidate Winfrey has what could be framed in election terms as policies.
Nevertheless, at the press briefing on Tuesday, Sanders said of talk of Winfrey potentially as president: “Look, I disagree very much on her policies. Is she a successful individual? Absolutely. But in terms of where she stands on a number of positions, I would find a lot of problems with that. But that would be something she would have to determine and lay out if she decided to run, and what that campaign would look like.”