President Oprah? Don’t count her out

By MiNDFOOD

She's been to the White House to interview Michelle Obama: is Oprah thinking about making it her next address?
She's been to the White House to interview Michelle Obama: is Oprah thinking about making it her next address?
Could a TV host with no political experience become president of the US? Oprah's thinking about it

The improbable political rise of Donald Trump has led Oprah Winfrey to think about whether she could become the second TV entertainer to work in the Oval Office.

Oprah, 63, told Bloomberg News interviewer David Rubenstein today that before Trump won the November election, she did not think she was qualified to be president.

Not anymore.

‘I actually never thought that that was – I never considered the question, even a possibility,’ she said.

But when the reality-show host beat long-time politician Hillary Clinton, Oprah said: “I thought, Oh, gee, I don’t have experience. I don’t know enough. I don’t.

“And now I’m thinking, Oh! Oh!”

If she were to enter the 2020 election race, presumably against Trump, Oprah would have at most 18 months to convince the Democratic party that she has the name-recognition (no-brainer), fundraising ability (no-brainer), national support (no-brainer), political smarts and credibility (well, given the result of the last election, maybe scratch that one).

It’s also a no-brainer that Oprah would campaign with a very smart, and popular, supporter at her side – Michelle Obama.

She told Rubenstein, a famed philanthropist who interviews business leaders on his show, that she built her career on one unlikely triumph after another.

When she was hired to host A. M. Chicago in 1984, she said, most of her friends predicted she would fail because her show competed with legendary interviewer Phil Donahue.

“It didn’t matter to me, because I did not think that he was beatable,” she recalled.

But ultimately, “I beat him. I did. I wasn’t trying to.”

If Oprah should run for president and win, she would gain one of the only public platforms bigger than those she already enjoys.

Her lifestyle brand and OWN cable TV network followed the 25-year run of The Oprah Winfrey Show and her starring role in the film The Color Purple.

Despite the ratings, she said founding a girls’ school in South Africa remains her proudest achievement.

Oprah has just returned to the US from Wanaka, in the South Island of New Zealand, where she, Reese Witherspoon and Mindy Kaling have been filming A Wrinkle In Time.

The three celebrated National Margarita Day with Oprah whipping up frozen cocktails for everyone.

Caught on camera by Witherspoon, Oprah explained: “I’m making sure we have good margaritas and there is no watering-down problem.”

The Ava DuVernay-directed film also stars Chris Pine and Zach Galifanakis.

The story, adapted from the 1963 Newbery Medal-winning Madeleine L’Engle novel, follows a young girl whose scientist father goes missing after working on a mysterious project that involves travelling through dimensions.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE

Print Recipe

BECOME A MiNDFOOD SUBSCRIBER TODAY

Let us keep you up to date with our weekly MiNDFOOD e-newsletters which include the weekly menu plan, health and news updates or tempt your taste buds with the MiNDFOOD Daily Recipe. 

Member Login