Oprah on 2020 run: "I don't have the DNA for it"
Just weeks before giving a rousing Golden Globes speech that spawned rumors of a possible shot at a presidential bid, renowned talk show host and "60 Minutes" correspondent Oprah Winfrey told InStyle Magazine that she has "no interest" in running for president in 2020.
"I've always felt very secure and confident with myself in knowing what I could do and what I could not. And so it's not something that interests me. I don't have the DNA for it," Oprah told InStyle's editor-in-chief Laura Brown in an interview for their March cover story. The interview was conducted three weeks before Winfrey had received the Cecile B. DeMille award where she gave the stirring speech.
The possibility of a Winfrey's run was trending heavily on social media after she delivered her remarks at the Golden Globe Awards before a television audience of 19 million people.
"For too long, women have not been heard or believed if they dare speak the truth to the power of those men. But their time is up. Their time is up!" Winfrey said in her speech.
"So I want all the girls watching here, now, to know that a new day is on the horizon," she continued.
The internet lit up, and her longtime partner Stedman Graham added fuel to the fire, telling the Los Angeles Times that Winfrey would "absolutely" run for president -- if the American people want her to.
But Winfrey went on in the interview, saying her close friend, "CBS This Morning" co-anchor Gayle King, regularly fields fans' questions of Winfrey's shot at politics.
"Gayle sends me these things, and then she'll go, 'I know, I know, I know! It wouldn't be good for you—it would be good for everyone else.' I met with someone the other day who said that they would help me with a campaign. That's not for me," Winfrey added.
While King insisted on CBS that Winfrey is not "actively considering" a run for president, she also said, "She loves this country and would like to be of service in some way."
As for Winfrey's role as a special correspondent with "60 Minutes", she says it's her "calling."
"I have to say the core of me is about conversations. Exploring the depth of our human experiences. That is what I do. That is my calling. Whether I do that through dramas, producing stories with OWN [Oprah Winfrey Network], or one-on-one conversations that matter, I know that's what I'm here to do," said Winfrey.
