Oprah Winfrey Asked To Run On Presidential Ticket?
There has been talk in the past of Oprah Winfrey entering the world of politics, and some politicians even claim that Winfrey herself expressed her interest to them. Specifically, in Mitt Romney’s biography, he claims that Winfrey was considering a run for President in 2020 and asked Romney to be on the ticket. However, Winfrey is pushing back against this claim, with a spokesperson for her saying, ” In November 2019, Ms. Winfrey called Senator Romney to encourage him to run on an Independent ticket,” adding, “She was not calling to be part of the ticket and was never considering running herself.”(via The Hollywood Reporter)
Mitt Romney’s book, Romney: A Reckoning, includes an excerpt about Oprah Winfrey wanting to form a unity ticket in 2020, but a spokesperson for the daytime television star clarified that Oprah would not run for President.
In an excerpt from the upcoming book, authored by journalist McKay Coppins and titled Romney: A Reckoning, the claim specifically says that Oprah Winfrey called Romney and wanted to form a unity ticket “to save the country.” It’s definitely an audacious claim, especially considering Romney isn’t necessarily someone you would associate with Winfrey’s political past. Of course, the unity ticket idea, if it is true, seems like it would have been looking to leverage Winfrey’s Democratic leanings with the more moderate Republican leanings of Romney to prevent a Trump re-election.
“In November 2019, Ms. Winfrey called Senator Romney to encourage him to run on an Independent ticket. She was not calling to be part of the ticket and was never considering running herself.”
A spokesperson for Oprah Winfrey clarified recent political rumors
The book further claims that Romney turned down Oprah Winfrey’s alleged idea, with the thinking that the ticket would incidentally help Trump since it would pull votes away from other candidates. That thinking would probably be accurate, considering the only time an Independent presidential candidate won the election was back in 1850 when Millard Filmore won for the Whig party. If the Winfrey/Romney party had pulled enough votes from Biden, it’s possible that Trump could have ended up winning the 2020 election.
Oprah Winfrey has also taken an active role in politics before by endorsing John Fetterman for a Pennsylvania Senate seat over Dr. Oz, whom Winfrey had previously featured on her show before the television doctor and media personality started a show of his own.
Whether Oprah Winfrey expressed interest in a Presidential run or not, the move wouldn’t have been entirely out of left field for the media mogul. Winfrey is friends with former President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama and has endorsed Obama throughout his Presidential career. She also has interviewed the couple multiple times.
Oprah Winfrey has also taken an active role in politics before by endorsing John Fetterman for a Pennsylvania Senate seat over Dr. Oz, whom Winfrey had previously featured on her show before the television doctor and media personality started a show of his own. Fetterman would end up winning the Senate seat, and it seems likely that Winfrey’s endorsement helped. The rumors of Winfrey actually going for a political office have been swirling around for a while now, but the official statement from her makes it seem like those rumors are either untrue or that she won’t be acting on those ideas anytime in the near future.
In the meantime, Oprah Winfrey is still plenty involved in the political arena, as she set up the OWN Your Vote group in 2022. The non-partisan group was dedicated to helping with voter registration and marketing a get-out-the-vote campaign that provided black women with the resources they needed to vote. It remains to be seen if Winfrey ever decides to try for a political office, but, at least for now, it seems like there aren’t any plans for a White House run.
