Oprah Winfrey stands as a legend in her own right.  In the entertainment industry, she’s broken down many barriers and has become one of our current society’s most influential women.  Although the world knows her for her incredible compassion, will she try and take on the challenge of guiding our country by running in the 2020 presidential election?

Just a month ago, the 2018 Golden Globes graced Oprah with the Cecil B. DeMille award, a prestigious award given by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association for outstanding contributions to the entertainment industry [1].  At the beginning of the award show, the host joked about Oprah becoming president. Viewers, instead of laughing the concept off, showed considerable interest; thus, debate began on her qualifications and on whether Winfrey was entertaining the prospect of running the country.

Oprah’s potential election involvement spurred mixed feelings on her qualifications, and also just plain shock upon hearing the news, as Sophia Hlavaty ‘21 showed.

“Are you serious?” she exclaimed incredulously. “Oprah is going to run for president?”  

Despite some raised eyebrows, some saw Oprah’s powerful acceptance speech during the Golden Globes as proof of her inspiring presence and her ability to rally people for an important cause. In addition, it’s common knowledge that Oprah is a self-made billionaire and an altruistic person, and that her persistence and compassion appeal constantly to the public, especially middle-aged women who watched her show. Winfrey represents a pivotal symbol of change that these viewers want in the world, and some believe that Oprah has the crucial empathy needed to unite nations [2].

Others simply do not want to get involved, or they believe that Winfrey comes short upon political knowledge. Bobby Corley ‘19 stated,  “I don’t like to get myself involved in politics, but whoever becomes president should be qualified.”  

This hesitancy comes partially from the belief that Oprah’s lack of experience in politics should eliminate her from such elections [3].  Unfortunately, since people also pass judgement based on one’s physical appearance, both Oprah’s race and gender will definitely make her political ambitions harder.

Of course, it all depends on whether or not Oprah decides to run for president. Winfrey’s close friends have said that if the public wants her as president, then she’ll willingly grant their wishes [4].  So far, Winfrey dodges questions on her social media accounts about this matter; whether she has plans to start a campaign is anyone’s guess, but only the legend herself will have the answer when the time comes.

[1] https://www.goldenglobes.com/cecil-b-demille-award-0

[2] http://variety.com/2018/scene/news/common-oprah-president-interview-1202671132/

[3] https://galoremag.com/why-oprah-is-qualified-to-run-for-president/

[4] http://money.cnn.com/2018/01/08/media/oprah-golden-globes/index.html