President Oprah Winfrey? It could happen.
The breakout star of the 75th Golden Globes has better odds to claim the White House than former Vice President Joe Biden, according to BetOnline, a prominent Internet gambling company.
The company is currently giving the former daytime television star 20 to 1 odds of becoming the next President of the United States. Those betting on Biden are given 25 to 1 odds. Some other contenders Winfrey topped were Mark Zuckerberg, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand — all of whom were given 25 to 1 odds.
Winfrey trailed other Democratic luminaries, including Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Sen. Kamala Harris, both of whom had 12 to 1 odds. Leading the pack, of course, was the president himself, Donald Trump, who BetOnline put at 2 to 1.
Representatives for Winfrey did not immediately respond to request for comment. In the past Winfrey (through her reps) has denied all such speculation.
“She is not running for office,” a publicist for Winfrey told TheWrap back in October, 2016.
Speculation has, however, continued to loom, returning with a vengeance Sunday night after the entertainment mogul’s widely-hailed acceptance speech for the Cecil B DeMille lifetime achievement award during the Golden Globes awards ceremony.
While the official line hasn’t changed, the speech was widely hailed on Twitter and cable news as an opening salvo for a shot at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. The rumors were further stoked by Winfrey’s longtime partner Stedman Graham, who casually said Sunday that she “would absolutely do it.”
If she did run, Winfrey would be able to largely bypass donor networks and self-finance her campaign by tapping into an estimated $3 billion fortune.
“If you have the name and the recognition you don’t have to raise as much, ” Howie Mandel, a prominent Los Angeles-based Democratic bundler (and not the comedian), told TheWrap in a previous interview. “I don’t think she’d need to fundraise.”