Oprah's Rousing Golden Globes Speech Re-Ignites Old Whispers

Could an Oprah 2020 campaign emerge out of this?
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 8, 2018 6:03 AM CST
After Golden Globes Speech, Talk of Oprah 2020 Builds
In this Oct. 21, 2017, file photo, Oprah Winfrey arrives for the David Foster Foundation 30th Anniversary Miracle Gala and Concert in Vancouver, British Columbia.   (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP, File)

It started with a half-kidding plea at the beginning of the Golden Globes for Oprah Winfrey to run for president, but by the end of the night, that thought was gaining steam. As the awards show opened, host Seth Meyers joked that if his stint as host at the 2011 White House Correspondents' Association dinner had somehow prompted Donald Trump to run for president, "I just want to say: Oprah, you will never be president! You do not have what it takes." He also not-asked Tom Hanks to be vice president, calling him "mean and unrelatable." The crowd laughed, but then Winfrey dropped a bombshell speech as she accepted the Cecil B. DeMille Award later in the evening—and that has now renewed whispers about the mega-star actually running, per the Washington Post.

Winfrey has said in the past she would "never run for public office," but she's given other hints she's not 100% against the prospect. The Post notes it's "no longer all that far-fetched to think that someone known primarily for their work on TV and with absolutely no governing experience could not only run for president but also win." Per the AP, Twitter was abuzz after her speech Sunday, with comedian Sarah Silverman tweeting: "Oprah/Michelle 2020." Winfrey's longtime beau and her best friend also weighed in. "I thought that speech was incredible. I got goosebumps," BFF Gayle King told the Los Angeles Times, and Stedman Graham, who's been with Winfrey for decades, added: "It's up to the people. She would absolutely do it." One other who thinks she's a winner: her potential rival. "Oprah will end up doing just fine with her network—she knows how to win," Donald Trump tweeted in 2012. (More Oprah Winfrey stories.)

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