Anyone who purchased an ‘Oprah 2020’ t-shirt will need to toss out their endorsement gear.
The queen of daytime TV told InStyle magazine she has no interest in vying for president, despite reports she was “actively considering” a run in the upcoming election.
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“I’ve always felt very secure and confident with myself in knowing what I could do and what I could not,” Winfrey said. “And so it’s not something that interests me. I don’t have the DNA for it.”
Speculation that Winfrey may toss her name into the election pool came after she delivered a powerful speech at the Golden Globes, which echoed that of a campaign address.
“In my career, what I’ve always tried my best to do, whether on television or through film, is to say something about how men and women really behave,” she said on stage to accept the Cecil B. deMille award. “To say how we experience shame, how we love and how we rage, how we fail, how we retreat, persevere and how we overcome.”
โI want all of the girls watching here now to know, that a new day is on the horizon.โ @Oprah accepts the 2018 Cecil B. de Mille award. #GoldenGlobes pic.twitter.com/hbquC1GBjm
โ Golden Globe Awards (@goldenglobes) January 8, 2018
As Winfrey declared that “a new day is on the horizon,” the audience leapt to its feet with applause, signaling their approval of her message. She was referring to the #MeToo movement, but her slogan could have doubled as a rallying cry should she have tossed in a bid to become President Winfrey.
Following the speech, a survey of 1,000 likely voters found 48% would vote for Winfrey, while the current president polled 38% of the votes. Another 14% of those surveyed remained undecided.
CNN reported earlier this month that two of the billionaire businesswoman’s friends and other confidants had been urging Winfrey to run for months, but she had not made up her mind.
Even Winfrey’s longtime partner Stedman Graham said “she would absolutely do it” if the people convinced her, he told the Los Angeles Times following the Globes.
Whispers of a Winfrey presidential run had celebrities and voters buzzing, but President Donald Trump was not shaken by the threat of a fellow entertainer turned politician.
“Oprah would be a lot of fun. I know Oprah very well,” Trump said.
“I like Oprah… I don’t think she’s gonna run,” he said, adding that if she happened to toss her name in the race, “I’ll beat Oprah.”