We all know Oprah Winfrey as the talk show host. However, there has been recent buzz that she may run for the presidency in 2020. Previously, Oprah has shot down suggestions stating that she "will never run for public office. That's a pretty definite thing." However, she has teased the idea more recently.
People seem to be backing her up and supporting her as well. One Republican strategist who has worked on presidential campaigns said "her chances of winning? 100%. If she runs for the Democratic nomination, I think it's over." Bill Kristol, the original promoter of Sarah Pali tweeted "Oprah. #ImWithHer."
Just a couple of years ago, it would seem somewhat absurd to see a TV star running for the presidency. However, ever since Donald Trump, it does not seem as ridiculous, meaning Oprah has a legitimate chance at running and winning. I think it is interesting how celebrities and TV stars are trying to become involved in politics. Even Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson is considering running for president, and apparently he is "seriously considering a run," or how Kanye West wanted to run for the 2020 presidency as well. As the article states, "have we lost our mind? or are we coming to our senses?" I personally think that, in most cases, people who .have worked mainly in TV are not as qualified as most other politicians to run for the presidency because of their lack of experience and political awareness and knowledge.
What do you think? Do you think Oprah will run and if so, will she be a good candidate? What are your thoughts on the recent surge of TV stars on the political scene like Trump and Oprah?
Sources:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/arts-and-entertainment/wp/2018/01/08/oprah-for-president-in-2020-heres-everything-you-need-to-know/?
utm_term=.57ada7b54d5dhttps://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/oprah-could-run-oprah-could-win-is-america-going-insane-or-just-coming-to-its-senses/2018/01/08/d116897e-f48c-11e7-b34a-b85626af34ef_story.html?utm_term=.cc4b772b16f9https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2018/jan/12/oprah-winfrey-unlikely-to-run-for-us-president-but-could-win-if-she-did
10 comments:
I thought Oprah's speech at the Golden Globes was extremely powerful and moving. But, I am not really sure about her running for president. Yes, she has a huge following, and it would be completely amazing for women (particularly women of color) and minorities that are underrepresented in government positions. However, she has extremely little experience with running a country. I think it's interesting that people (liberals mainly) were annoyed with Trump winning because he was basically a newbie in the government and was only famous because of his show "The Apprentice", but now, many people are supportive of Oprah, although she has no political background whatsoever. According to a Time article I read, Trump hugely changed the relationship between politicians and pop-culture celebrities. If Oprah ran & won the 2020 presidency, I am not sure that the executive branch or the federal government in general would benefit at all.
This is an interesting situation. Let me be clear, I have a huge amount of respect for Oprah, she is an amazing person and I would vote for her any day over Donald Trump. However, Oprah, like Trump, has no political experience, she doesn't know much about policy making, and the only real qualification for being president is a seemingly infinite supply of energy and charisma. While Oprah did give an excellent speech, which I'd say there is a good chance she wrote, and she clearly wants to help her country succeed, I do not believe that she has the qualifications to make tough legislative and executive decisions. In my personal opinion, America should go back to having experienced leaders who will repair the damage that the Trump administration continues to do to democracy and America's diplomatic standing abroad.
In case you are wondering who I think should be president, I am hoping for Elizabeth Warren, Kirsten Gillibrand, or Kamala Harris.
Honestly, having celebrities run for government is stupid. There are so many people that dedicate their lives to public service and have the experience to know how to make policy and run a government. Sure, celebrities and politicians both need to be able to appeal to the public and the media, but that's about where the similarities end.
But, if you want Oprah because you want a woman of color, you could also vote for Kamala Harris, as Will mentioned. Like Obama when he first ran, she hasn't been in the Senate for very long and thus doesn't have too much that she will have to be held accountable for.
I maintain that it is rather absurd for Washington outsiders, with zero political and military experience, to run for presidency. The position of President of the United States of America is a very difficult and demanding role, and those TV talk-show hosts that do not have the expertise to handle such demanding jobs will fail and sacrifice US standing in the worldwide stage. I would highly discourage Oprah from running in the 2020 election in the interest of preserving the dignity of American government.
I personally think everyone would think America is a joke if more non-qualified candidates run for president, but I would take Oprah over Trump any day.
I think that people view Trump with a lot less respect than he deserves. He was in charge of a multi-billion dollar company and has years of experience in dealing with other parties and countries. This gives him at least some qualifications to being president as he understands the economy very well which we can see since the stock market has been going up during his presidency. Despite this people label him as a celebrity rather than an businessman. As a result people who's qualifications do not even come close to Trump's experience are saying to themselves hey, if Trump can do it then so can I. This is not true at all, Trump is a lot smarter than people give him credit for. He is not this clown that people claim him to be, he won for a reason, not just because of all of the uneducated white trash in middle america but a lot of it had to do with highly educated people who saw the value of his ideology and policies. If Oprah were to run in 2020 there is no way she would possibly win, she has no experience in anything related to politics. She is a talk show host who had one powerful speech, that is it. You cannot say well if Trump can do it so can Oprah because they are not equal. Trump's campaign was in my opinion pure genius, the way he won the support of millions of voters was spectacular and brilliant, he is the 4D chess champion as I like to call it. Oprah has none of the qualifications Trump has and there is no way she will win the election in 2020.
I agree with most of the comments above, in that I do not think celebrities should run for the presidency. I think many of them are in over their heads and will have no idea what they're signing up for. They are also inexperienced, and I'd rather have someone who knows what they're doing be in charge of our country. However, I do think if Oprah pursued this further, she would gain a lot of support, and perhaps have a chance at winning.
As much as I like Oprah Winfrey, she has no experience with dealing with that level of politics. Sure, she has a massive following but than can only get you so far in the election. I don't get this sense that since Trump won the presidency, now anyone can be the president. I agree with John comment, Trump is a business man owning a multi-billion dollar company. Trump isn't an idiot, he just had a very unorthodox way of running his campaign which everyone thought was dumb but, it apparently worked.
I agree with the point Aech brought up - so many people dedicate their lives to politics and are often more well-equipped and qualified to run for president. As much as I admire Oprah and all that she's accomplished in her lifetime, I don't think she would be the best choice. While she is a philanthropist and powerful business woman who has spent a large portion of her life in the public sphere, there are simply better options that, like Frank suggested, would better preserve the "dignity of American government." I think many people who are liberals are motivated to vote for her because her stances on social issues heavily align with theirs and she is a woman of color, but I don't think everyone is taking into account all of the roles presidents often have to take on. Regarding TV stars trying to make their way into the political sphere, I think it is interesting that they are using their platforms to do so. Especially after the 2016 election, I think more and more people from a variety of backgrounds are being inspired to run for president, which is something we can interpret as either a good thing or a bad thing.
While Oprah made an especially moving speech, she never explicitly stated any intention of running for president. The internet (as it always does) jumped to a conclusion about her goals and tried to force the idea of Oprah 2020 through to everyone, including Oprah herself. Although, such a call to action would likely not have been made if we had a president that garnered even a simple majority of approval. I do not think she would make a good candidate for president. Although she is a good person with good intentions, her lack of political experience would result in a poor presidency.
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