Oprah Winfrey beat Donald Trump by 10 points in a new survey that asked who voters would choose for president in 2020.
According to a Rasmussen Reports national telephone and online survey, 48 percent of likely United States voters would cast their vote for Winfrey, and 38 percent would opt for the current commander-in-chief. Fourteen percent, however, were undecided.
Of those 1,000 surveyed, 76 percent of Democrats, 22 percent of Republicans and 44 percent of unaffiliated voters supported Winfrey, and 55 percent of all voters viewed her favorably. The survey was conducted Jan. 8 through 9 this week.
Talk of Winfrey running in 2020 was spurred on by a rousing speech the media mogul gave Sunday night at the Golden Globe Awards. In the days since, speculation has been swirling. It was reported that Winfrey’s partner Stedman Graham said, “She would absolutely do it” — as in run for president. But Winfrey’s best friend Gayle King later said Graham misheard the question. King said that Graham thought the reporter asked, “Would she make a good president?” to which he responded, “Absolutely, she would.”
“That is how he interpreted the question,” King said on CBS This Morning on Tuesday. “Because here’s the thing: Stedman would never so cavalierly say, ‘Absolutely she would do it. It’s up to the people.’ …He would never just throw it out there like that.”
“I was up talking to her late last night,” King said. “I do think she is intrigued by the idea. I do think that. I also know that after years of watching the ‘Oprah Show,’ you always have the right to change your mind. I don’t think at this point she is actually considering it.”
But Oprah “loves this country and would like to be in service in some way, but I don’t think she is actively considering it,” King said.
Back in October, Winfrey’s publicist told TheWrap that she is “not running for office.”
Trump, on the other hand, said Tuesday he would defeat the iconic daytime star if she dared challenge him in 2020.
“I’ll beat Oprah,” he said in response to an off-camera question from a reporter. “I don’t think she’s going to run. I know her very well.”
Trump mentioned that he remained very fond of Winfrey, adding: “Oprah would be a lot of fun. I know her very well … I did one of her last shows. She had Donald Trump — this is before politics — her last week, and she had Donald Trump and my family, it was very nice.”
The 2020 presidential race is sure to have many other players in the field, but Winfrey needn’t worry should she decide to throw her hat in the ring. Gambling website BetOnline gave Winfrey 20-1 odds of becoming the next President of the United States, beating out former Vice President Joe Biden and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.