Culture

Gayle King Thinks That Oprah Won’t Run For President, But Says She Is ‘Intrigued’ By The Idea

Oprah Winfrey’s passionate and powerful Golden Globes speech gave rise to speculation that she’d run for president in 2020. The notion got a boost from Oprah’s partner, Stedman Graham, who told the LA Times that Oprah would “absolutely do it” if the conditions were right, but “it’s up to the people.” Sadly for the people (who got worked up over this), Oprah’s best friend, Gayle King, believes that Graham didn’t understand the question that he was answering. On Tuesday, King asserted to her CBS This Morning co-hosts that Graham thought he was being asked, “Would she make a good president?”

King further insisted that Graham would never “so cavalierly” tell reporters that Oprah was running for the highest office in the land, and while King admits that Oprah is probably “intrigued,” she’s not in that state of mind … yet:

“You know, I was up talking to her very late last night. I do think this though, guys. I do think she’s intrigued by the idea. I do think that. I also know after years of watching the Oprah show, you always have a right to change your mind. I don’t think at this point she is actually considering it. But listen, there are people who have said they want to be her campaign manager … She loves this country and would like to be of service in some way, but I don’t think that she’s actively considering it.”

So, King is throwing cold water on the idea but still leaving the door open, which sounds like a swell way to keep the buffet of speculation going. She also told her co-hosts that Oprah was fine-tuning her Globes speech on the way to the venue. Maybe she’ll play it by ear with a campaign announcement, too.

Watch a longer clip of the segment below.

(Via CBS This Morning)