Oprah Winfrey Reconsiders Running for President

Though Oprah Winfrey has previously admitted she’d never run for president—at least “not in this lifetime”—she might just change her mind when it comes to the 2020 election…

The television mogul joined The David Rubenstein Show on Wednesday and admitted recent events have caused her to reconsider running for president one day. 

When host David Rubenstein asked, “Have you ever thought that—given the popularity you have [and] we still haven’t broken the glass ceiling yet for women—that you could run for president and actually be elected?”

“I…” Winfrey trailed off, smiling as the audience began laughing. “I actually never considered the question even a possibility. I just thought, ‘Oh!'”

She continued, “I just thought, ‘Oh, gee, I don’t have the experience, I don’t know enough, I don’t know.’ And now I’m thinking…Oh!“

Should we start the trend on Twitter now? #OprahForPresident2020!

Obviously Oprah’s massive, self-made success has been one of the many reasons people think she should get involved in politics—the other being her ability to connect with people.

In fact, when asked about the key factor that catapulted The Oprah Winfrey Show to the top, she says it’s just that: “My skill comes not from my interviewing ability, my skill comes from my listening ability and my skill comes from me knowing fundamentally inside myself that I am no different than the audience,” she explained. “So what gave me the power in the seat and the power with the microphone was I always saw myself as the surrogate for the audience.”

Whether she’s hosting a talk show or running for president, Winfrey says one person has and always will be there: Gayle King.

“You want to have a friend who wants the most, the best and the highest for you,” she said. “I have never seen a person like Gayle… I’ve never had a moment’s jealousy from Gayle in, you know, for 30 odd years of her friendship, except for the one time I was on stage dancing with Tina Turner.”

You can watch Winfrey’s full episode with Rubenstein here.