Talk show icon and the third richest black person in the world, Oprah Winfrey has again confirmed she has no intention of running for US president, even though generous donors have offered to raise her $1 billion to take on Donald Trump in 2020.
The 64-year-old billionaire last month gave an inspiring speech at the Golden Globes, heralding a “new day” in the wake of the sexual harassment watershed.
“I am actually humbled by the fact that people think that I could be a leader of the free world, but it’s just not in my spirit,” Winfrey told CBS. “It’s not my DNA.”
She said her only goal had been to deliver a good speech and that she had been “stunned” by the reaction.
“I had a lot of wealthy men calling, telling me that they would run my campaign and raise $1 billion for me.
“I think that when you have that many people whose opinions you value coming at you, it’s worthy of thinking about.”
She concluded that she still wants to play a part in politics even though she was not planning to run.
“I do feel that I have a responsibility, as a person who has a big voice in this country, to use it to promote justice and kindness and goodwill in the world. But it never has felt to me that that was supposed to be political.”
In an interview with In Style magazine’s March issue, conducted before the Globes, Winfrey stated she lacked the disposition for a presidential run in 2020.
In a poll while 64 percent of Americans have a favourable view of Winfrey, only 35 percent wanted her to run in 2020.
Trump’s former White House strategist Steve Bannon is quoted in a book by journalist Joshua Green of calling Oprah an “existential threat” to the Trump presidency should she decide to campaign for the Democrats in 2018.