Trump Finally Spoke Out About Oprah Maybe Running For President

After delivering a memorable speech at the Golden Globes, rumors started swirling that Oprah is possibly considering running for president. On Tuesday, Donald Trump addressed the Oprah running for president rumors to the White House press pool — she'd be "lots of fun," he said.

"I like Oprah," he said. "I know her very well. ... You know, I did one of her last shows. She had Donald Trump — this was before politics — her last week, and she had Donald Trump and my family. It was very nice." But he also followed it up with, "I don't think she's gonna run. I don't think she's gonna run."

A lot of people have pointed out that it's very typical of Trump to insert himself and his celebrity into an answer about somebody else's potential bid for office. But it's not surprising that he's supportive of Oprah potentially running. In 1999, Trump floated the idea of running for president and said he'd want the TV personality as his VP.

"Oprah. I love Oprah. Oprah would always be my first choice," Trump told Larry King at the time. "I tell you, she's really a great woman. She is a terrific woman. She is somebody that is very special."

He did express doubt that she'd even be interested. "I mean, if she'd do it, she'd be fantastic," Trump said. "I mean, she's popular, she's brilliant, she's a wonderful woman. I mean, if she would ever do it. I don't know that she would ever do it. She's got, you know... She would be sort of like me. I mean, I have a lot of things going, she's got a lot of things going on ... that would be a pretty good ticket."

Trump isn't the first person to compare his run for office to Oprah's. Many fans of Oprah don't want her to run because we don't need another celebrity with no political experience in the White House.

After declaring his run for the White House in 2015, Trump reiterated his desire to share the ticket with Oprah. "I think Oprah would be great. I'd love to have Oprah," he told ABC's George Stephanopoulos. "I think we'd win easily, actually. ... I like Oprah. I mean, is that supposed to be a bad thing? I don't think so."

The president has also praised Oprah in tweets over the years. In 2012, he said she was a "winner" after she launched her network, OWN.

It makes sense that Trump would want to run with someone like Oprah, but it's confusing why he'd want to run against her — particularly if she's such a "winner." However, he reportedly thinks he has a good shot at winning.

"Yeah, I'd beat Oprah," Trump said during a meeting with lawmakers at the White House on Tuesday. Still, he's not convinced she's going to run, despite the growing support for her candidacy.

Even Oprah's best friend Gayle King says Oprah could run for president. "I do think she's intrigued by the idea," King said on CBS This Morning.

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's actually considering it, but listen, there are people who have said they want to be her campaign manager, who want to quit their jobs and campaign for her.

And after years of saying she wasn't interested in running for office, Oprah has started to warm up to the idea. In an interview for Bloomberg's The David Rubenstein Show: Peer-to-Peer Conversations, Oprah told Rubenstein in March 2017 that after Trump was elected, she thought she might actually be qualified enough for the role.

I thought, "Oh gee, I don't have the experience, I don't know enough." And now I'm thinking, "Oh. Oh!"

While Trump seems confident he would win, judging by the outpouring of support for #Oprah2020, it's clear that Oprah would give him a run for his money.