Why should Oprah want to be president when she already calls all the shots? - Guardian

Why should Oprah want to be president when she already calls all the shots?

Rebecca Nicholson Rebecca Nicholson

She doesn’t need to run for the White House to assure her place in the public’s affection

Sun 28 Jan 2018 11.05 AEDT

‘Oprah Winfrey has firmly nixed the idea of a president Winfrey.’

Remember a couple of weeks ago, when Oprah Winfrey briefly became #Oprah2020, as if all it would take to become president of the United States was a television career and decent oratory skills?

It seemed far-fetched, but possible, as the incumbent has already demonstrated that barely one of those will do. Naturally, the attention-hungry former star of mediocre US reality show The Apprentice has weighed in on the imaginary candidacy, but enough about Piers Morgan – President Trump has said he would beat her and that “Oprah would be a lot of fun”.

The showdown was not to be. Oprah has firmly nixed the idea of a president Winfrey in the White House, with a masterly interview in InStyle magazine. “I’ve always felt very secure and confident in myself in knowing what I could do and what I could not,” she said, which has been read as a sign of self-assurance, but which could also be seen as a deliciously scathing riposte to Trump, whose insecurities radiate from him like meat sweats. “I don’t have the DNA for it,” she added, as hopeful Winfrey supporters begin smashing their “OPE” mugs in despair.

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Oprah’s life story, as rags to riches as can be, is astonishing and she has managed to juggle an air of deep benevolence and compassion with the running of a multibillion dollar industry, which is no mean feat: nobody wants a soothing hug from Jeff Bezos. So why would Oprah want to tie herself up in the political system?

She can be far more effective without going anywhere near elected office. In the InStyle interview, she brought the conversation around to farm workers in Iowa rather than letting it dwell on Hollywood. If all political lives are doomed to fail, as the famously open-hearted and accepting Enoch Powell once decreed, then of course it’s not for Oprah. Oprah Winfrey does not fail.

Of course, Vanity Fair gave Winfrey three hands in its most recent issue. Some might call it a retouching fail; others will know that, as all photographers aspire to do, Annie Leibovitz simply captured her subject’s true essence. Oprah Winfrey is so supportive of mankind that she used all three arms to prop up Reese Witherspoon. You get a hand! You get a hand! You get a hand! Besides, if she had to take the oath of office, which one would she place on the Bible?