Washington: Media mogul Oprah Winfrey ended her brief flirtation with a run for the U.S. presidency in 2020, telling InStyle magazine in an interview published Thursday that she was not interested.
Winfrey, 63, stole the show at the Golden Globes awards ceremony earlier this month with a speech on the #MeToo movement against sexual harassment and assault. It was enough to spark an online campaign to lure her into running against Republican U.S. President Donald Trump in the next election cycle.
"It's not something that interests me," Winfrey told InStyle. "... I met with someone the other day who said that they would help me with a campaign. That's not for me."
Winfrey could not be reached for immediate comment.
Her friends had fanned the flames of the idea, with Winfrey's longtime partner in business and life, Stedman Graham, telling the Los Angeles Times "she would absolutely do it" if there was sufficient public support. Winfrey confidante Gayle King said on "CBS This Morning" that Winfrey was "intrigued" by the idea of a run.
Known by millions on first-name basis, Winfrey first rose to fame as the host of a television talk show, using it to build a media empire that spans magazine publishing, movie and television production, cable TV and satellite radio. Born into poverty, she is now one of the world's wealthiest women.
Winfrey has long been associated with Democratic Party politics and has raised millions of dollars for various candidates and causes.
Unlike every U.S. president before Trump, who was a real estate developer and TV reality show star before running for office, Winfrey has no prior political or military experience.
Trump relished the idea of a celebrity-versus-celebrity election cycle, telling reporters earlier this month that he did not think Winfrey would run but believed he would win that matchup.
"I'll beat Oprah," Trump told reporters in the White House. "Oprah would be a lot of fun."
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