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Tribune News Service
Tribune News Service
Politics
Denis Slattery

Oprah Winfrey shuts down presidential run rumors: 'I don't have the DNA for it'

Oprah Winfrey is not running for president.

The daytime talk show host and media empire maven sparked interest in a possible run for the White House after a galvanizing and empowering Golden Globes speech that sent liberal hearts swooning earlier this month.

But Winfrey, who has said in the past that she has no interest in running for political office, told InStyle magazine in no uncertain terms that she has no interest in working in the West Wing.

"I've always felt very secure and confident with myself in knowing what I could do and what I could not," the 63-year-old told the magazine. "And so it's not something that interests me. I don't have the DNA for it."

Despite her humble dismissal of the idea, many Americans say they can see her facing off against President Trump.

Winfrey would beat out Trump in a hypothetical head-to-head 51 percent to 42 percent, according to a CNN poll released on Wednesday.

Trump weighed in on the possible contest in the days following the Golden Globes, telling reporters, "Yeah, I'd beat Oprah."

"Oprah would be a lot of fun. I know her very well... I like Oprah. I don't think she's gonna run," he added.

Winfrey has shut down the idea in the past.

Last June, she told the Hollywood Reporter she would "never run for public office."

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