When Oprah Winfrey sat down with Ellen DeGeneres Thursday afternoon, she was very hesitant to say anything nasty about President Donald Trump, even after he tweeted that she was “very insecure” on 60 Minutes this past week. Jimmy Kimmel was not about to let her get away with taking the high road on his show.
After introducing Winfrey as “an Academy Award recipient, a legendary broadcaster, humanitarian and the best president we will never have,” Kimmel began by trying to clear up that persistent rumor: “So you’re definitely not running for president?”
“I am definitely not running for president,” Winfrey said into the camera.
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“That’s when you know you’ve made a good speech, when all of a sudden people translate it into presidency,” Kimmel said of Winfrey’s Golden Globes address.
She said after she finished speaking at that event, she was simply “relieved” that it was over and wanted to “have some tequila,” but within moments she realized the 2020 speculation had began. “It’s a humbling thing to have people think you can run the country,” she said.
Ultimately, it was comments from her longtime partner Stedman Graham that fueled that speculation. “I said, why are you even talking, Stedman?” Winfrey told Kimmel. “Stedman, why are you talking? So this is Stedman’s thing now. He’s like, ‘I’ll never go to another Golden Globes. I was just trying to support you at the Golden Globes, next thing I know you’re running for president.’ But he says he heard the reporter say, ‘Would she make a good president?’ Of course, he would never say I should run.”
It was then that Kimmel brought up Trump’s recent tweet, putting it up on the screen behind them. “Have you ever been ‘insecure’ anytime in the last 35 years?” he asked her.
“I’m trying to think about, have I ever...I’m trying to think when that would be,” Winfrey said. Asked if she ever considered tweeting back at Trump, Winfrey replied, “Not a second.”
“I would love to have your password,” Kimmel said, “so in case he ever does this again I can take care of this, you know?”
“You don’t win by meeting any kind of negativity head-on,” Winfrey said, repeating the sentiment she expressed to DeGeneres.
Despite Kimmel’s best efforts, she wasn’t going to budge.
