Could Trump beat Oprah?
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The Golden Globe Awards took place across the pond late Sunday night to early Monday morning UK time – and they were a powerful statement of solidarity and equality, with stars highlighting the prevalent issue of sexual assault and harassment in Hollywood.
Oprah Winfrey, actor, businessperson, philanthropist and TV host, stole the show with a moving and powerful speech when she accepted the lifetime achievement award. Winfrey, whose rags-to-riches story of a young black girl who grew up in poverty to becoming a self-made billionaire aged 32, was hailed an inspiration and has been seriously considered by the media and some within the entertainment industry as a candidate for the 2020 US election.
Since then, current US President (and also TV show billionaire) Donald Trump has weighed in on the ‘Oprah 2020’ speculation, saying: “Yeah, I’ll beat Oprah,” and that it would be “fun” to run a campaign against her. On whether he thinks Ms Winfrey would run for the highest office in the land, the President said: “I like Oprah, but I don’t think she’s going to run. I don’t think she’s going to run. I knew her very well.”
In the speech, which told the stories of civil rights icons Recy Taylor and Rosa Parks, Oprah announced that “a new day is on the horizon” and that sexual assault and harassment is an issue “that transcends any culture, geography, race, religion, politics, or workplace”. You can watch it in full here.
When asked in 1999 who he would choose as a running mate for his presidential candidacy, Trump nominated Winfrey, who supported Democratic candidates Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, and said that she would “always be [his] first choice”. We wonder how Mike Pence feels about that one.
Whether Oprah will run in 2020 remains to be seen. She certainly has the funds to run a campaign, the support from popular culture (at the moment) and the intelligence to work out what it is people want and need. Close friends have told CNN that she is “actively thinking” about running, although this could all be speculation roused from a particularly spectacular speech.