'Thanks for the VOTE of confidence!' Oprah Winfrey stokes speculation about a White House run against Trump after op-ed says she's the Democrats' best hope
- A conservative New York Post columnist wrote that Oprah Winfrey is the Democrats' best hope to beat Donald trump in 2020
- Oprah wrote to him on Twitter: 'Thanks for the VOTE of confidence'
- She was asked in March if she had ever thought about running, and said she thought she was unqualified – until Trump won
- 'Trump vs Oprah would be the most epic race in American history. MAKE THIS HAPPEN,' Matt Drudge wrote at the time
Democrats have the perfect weapon to take down Donald Trump in 2020, according to a conservative columnist: Oprah.
The famed black media proprietor and TV host was thrown into the political mix on Thursday when an op-ed in the New York Post suggested she is 'uniquely positioned, should she wish to commit herself, to seek the Democratic nomination for president and challenge Trump in 2020.'
John Podhoretz, a never-Trump advocate and former speechwriter for Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush, shared his essay on Twitter – and Oprah answered.
'Thanks for your VOTE of confidence!' she wrote back in a tweet.
Podhoretz replied: 'Give it a shot, what, would it kill you?'
PRESIDENT OPRAH? Don't look now, but the queen of daytime TV might be eying 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
A New York Post columnist made waves this week by suggesting Oprah Winfrey is the Democratic Party's best choice to run against President Donald Trump in 2020, and Oprah thanked him for the 'VOTE' of confidence
John Podhoretz, a frequent Trump critic, tried to goad Winfrey into running for the White House
Winfrey starred Sunday in a '60 Minutes' segment that had her conducting a focus group of Michigan voters, assessing the range of their political opinions.
Asked about impressions of Trump, their answers ranged from 'every day I love him more and more' to 'he's a horrible president.
Oprah listened, reflected their answers, and tried not to judge.
Podhoretz wrote that she is the Trump's 'mirror image.'
'Of course, she's female and he's male; she's America's generous aunt and he's America's crazy uncle.
'And yes, she's black and he's white, she's liberal and he's whatever he is.'
The columnist later chuckled on Twitter that 'Trumpkins' – his derisive nickname for the president's fans, have been 'emailing me to say my idea Oprah would be strong in '20 is crazy because she has no experience.'
Oprah asked voters in Michigan what they thought about Trump for Sunday's broadcast of '60 Minutes
The author of Thursday's New York Post essay laughed at 'Trumpkins' who thought Oprah lacked the political experience to be president
This isn't the first time the idea of a Winfrey-headed presidential ticket has made news.
Oprah told Bloomberg in March that before Trump won the 2016 election, she thought she was unqualified to be president – but not anymore.
'I actually never thought that that was – I never considered the question, even a possibility,' she said.
But when reality-show icon Trump beat longtime politician Hillary Clinton, she said, 'I just thought, "Oh! Oh!"'
'I thought, "Oh, gee, I don't have experience. I don't know enough. I don't."
'And now I'm thinking, "Oh! Oh!"'
Oprah said in March that she had never considered running for president until Trump won
'I thought, "Oh, gee, I don't have experience. I don't know enough. I don't." And now I'm thinking, "Oh! Oh!"' Oprah told a Bloomberg interviewer
The television icon later claimed that a White House run 'won't be happening.'
Internet publisher Matt Drudge of The Drudge Report threw fuel on the fire that day, tweeting that 'Trump vs Oprah would be the most epic race in American history. MAKE THIS HAPPEN.'
In the Post op-ed, Podhoretz wrote that '[i]f you need to set a thief to catch a thief, you need a star — a grand, outsized, fearless star whom Trump can neither intimidate nor outshine — to catch a star.'
'We're through the looking glass here. America is discarding old approaches in politics. Democrats will have to do the same to match the mood to the moment.'
Most watched News videos
- 'DON'T!': Officer repeatedly shoots at suspect driver fleeing
- Suspect opens fire on blockade of cops who then shoot him dead
- Bronx teen accused of stabbing two classmates says he was bullied
- Helpful dog cleans debris in hurricane-ravaged Puerto Rico
- RAGING state trooper throws tantrum and punches at road workers
- Sheriff: Victim's son's DNA helped identify septic tank remains
- Suspect who left Confederate flags around American University
- Group of six attacks and beats two victims at Brooklyn bus stop
- Puerto Rican family rescued after writing 'help' on the rooftop
- Clueless driver rear-ends car not once but twice
- Student bullied in bathroom at Bronx 'murder' school
- Scalise praises doctors for 'putting him back together' after shooting
- 'A little BS over travel': Trump's Interior Secretary...
- One way trip: Thousands of Puerto Ricans flee...
- Now only 39 per cent of black people now think OJ Simpson...
- You're fired! Trump axes HHS Secretary Tom Price for...
- Tennessee Titans star Delanie Walker says his family has...
- American tourists are urged to cancel trips to Cuba after...
- Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers donated tickets to...
- 'I needed to see him behind bars and shackled': Sister of...
- NFL players' MOMS write an open letter to Donald Trump...
- Desperate Puerto Ricans are forced to cross a river using...
- President Trump says he thought Kim Jong-un would take...
- 'It looks like a festering wound': Foodies mercilessly...
- 'It's a witch hunt': Silicon Valley sees a backlash...
- Saints QB Drew Brees says team will kneel, then 'stand...
- White House to probe use of private emails after Trump...
- Move over avocado toast, 'millionaire's bacon' is the new...
- The price of protesting: Detroit Lions defensive tackle...
- 'Run, granny, they got me': Woman, 64, caught smuggling...