'I would only speak where I feel that I can be heard': How Oprah would spend 10 minutes with Trump

ByDanny Clemens WABC logo
Saturday, March 10, 2018
How Oprah would spend 10 minutes with Trump
Weeks after renewed calls for Oprah Winfrey to run for office, the media mogul was asked how she would choose to spend 10 minutes with President Donald Trump.

NEW YORK -- If given 10 minutes with President Donald Trump, Oprah Winfrey would choose her words carefully.

Weeks after renewed calls for her to run for office, the media mogul was asked what she would say to Trump "billionaire to billionaire, megastar to megastar and also human being to human being" if there were no cameras rolling.

"I would only speak where I feel that I can be heard, so I would only speak if I felt that I could be heard," Winfrey told CNN's Van Jones.

Winfrey downplayed her personal relationship with Trump, telling Jones that she last saw him years ago when they both were dining in the same restaurant.

Since then, there's been tension between the two billionaires stemming from a rousing speech Winfrey gave at the Golden Globe Awards about the importance of representation and equality. That widely watched speech led to calls for Winfrey to run for the presidency in 2020.

At the Golden Globes, Oprah expressed gratitude to those who left their mark on the world and shared her advice for those who want to make a difference.

As recently as Feb. 23, Winfrey has reiterated that she will not be running.

Trump has praised Winfrey in the past and said in 1999 that he'd choose her as a running mate should he ever run for office. The president, though, adopted a different tone in the weeks following Winfrey's Golden Globes speech.

He called Winfrey "insecure" in a February tweet and said he hopes she runs "so she can be exposed and defeated just like all of the others."

When asked during a subsequent appearance on "Jimmy Kimmel Live" if she ever thought of responding to Trump's sweet, Oprah replied, "Not [for] a second ... You don't win by meeting any kind of negativity head-on."