Friday, March 29, 2024

Gayle King: Oprah ‘Very Intrigued’ By Idea of Presidential Run; Says Stedman ‘Misinterpreted’ LA Times Question

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Gayle King on "CBS This Morning" - Jan 9, 2018
Gayle King on “CBS This Morning” – Jan 9, 2018

*During her hosting gig on “CBS This Morning,” Gayle King was grilled about the presidential talk surrounding her best friend Oprah Winfrey, and if O’s boyfriend Stedman Graham was being strategic when telling an LA Times reporter Sunday that Oprah “would absolutely” run for president.

Stedman misinterpreted the question, Gayle revealed, adding that he thought the reporter was asking if Oprah would make a good president.

Gayle’s co-host Norah O’Donnell reminded her of Stedman’s exact quote to the Times about the possibility of Oprah running: “It’s up to the people. She would absolutely do it,” he told the reporter.

“He did say it was up to the people, but I’m telling you, his interpretation of the question was, he thought the reporter was saying, ‘Would she make a good president,’” Gayle responded.

Cutting to the chase, Norah asked if Oprah is indeed ending years of flat out denials that she would ever run for president and considering a 2020 bid. 

Gayle would not commit to a definitive yes or no.

“I absolutely don’t think that her position has changed. I don’t. You know, I was up talking to her very late last night. I do think she’s intrigued by the idea. I also know that from years of watching the ‘Oprah’ show you do have the right to change your mind. I don’t think at this point she’s actually considering it. But listen, there are people who said they want to be her campaign manager, who want to quit their jobs and campaign for her. She loves this country and would like to be of service in some way, but I don’t think that she’s actively considering it at this time.”

Watch below:

Regarding Oprah’s show-stopping Golden Globes speech that launched this latest White House fervor, Gayle said her BFF crafted every word, and that producers had originally asked O to cut the speech down to three minutes…and Oprah refused.

“Listen, Oprah crafted that speech. She knew how she wanted to start,” Gayle said. “This was the thing for her. She knew exactly what she wanted to say and how she wanted to say it. She crafted the speech, she talked to an editor at [O] magazine and the two of them came up with it, but Oprah put down exactly what she wanted to say. Those were all her words.

“Listen, she writes her What I Know for Sure column every month in the magazine. She’s a very good writer. We all know she’s a very good talker, and so I think it was a home run on many levels.

“I will say this, being in that [Golden Globes] room was electrifying. It was the right person giving the right speech at the right time. She wanted that moment to be more than women wearing black dresses in solidarity. She really did want to speak to young girls around the country. She really did want to say enough already, and I think she delivered on all in a very eloquent way. But will she run for president? I think it’s a very intriguing idea.”

Asked by co-host Jeff Glor if Oprah has a timeline in mind, should she decide to run, Gayle simply stuck to her “intriguing” talking point.

“I don’t think there is such a thing as a timeline, and I’m not trying to be cute here or be mysterious. But I do think it’s a very intriguing thing,” she said.

Watch below:

Gayle also denied rumors of Oprah’s Golden Globes speech being written strategically as a “launching pad” for a 2020 presidential campaign.

“That’s absolutely not true,” she affirmed. Watch below:

Gayle said that at rehearsal for the Golden Globes, producers told Oprah she had to shave some minutes from her speech, “Because it was six minutes long,” King said. “[Producers] said, ‘You have to cut it to three minutes.’ And Oprah said, ‘If it was any other night than this one I could do that, but I don’t plan on cutting it. As it turned out with all the applause, it went to nine minutes. And I think they were very pleased. I think the producers thought that was worth going late for.”

Watch below:

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