What Oprah, Trump can bring to the table in 2020 presidential elections

CAIRO – 10 January 2018: After her 10-minute influential speech on sexual harassment at the 75th Golden Globes Awards, the famous TV host Oprah Winfrey was said to be actively thinking to run for U.S. Presidential election in 2020, according to media outlets quoting sources close to her.





On January 8, Time published a report titled “How Oprah Could Beat Donald Trump at His Own Game in 2020,” explaining that Winfrey and Trump have common factors and that it was possible for her to trump him in the role.

Here are some common factors between Winfrey and Trump:

Of the factors that Time pointed to was the wealth of both candidates. Winfrey was the third-richest woman in U.S. in 2017; Trump’s fortune of the same year was very close to hers.

Both are also large figures in the media; Winfrey has been a 25-year-old producer of her famous "Oprah Winfrey Show” and Trump was the star of “The Apprentice” show for 15 seasons.

Both joined Twitter in early 2009. In January of the same year, Winfrey’s started her account which has developed a following of 41.2 million people. Trump also joined the social media outlet in March of the same year, with followers on his personal account reaching 46.3 million people.

Both are fluent in the art of self-promotion. Winfrey was featured on all the covers of every issue of “The Opera Magazine” since 2000, and the publication has 2.4 million readers. Yet, Trump was featured on three magazines which never amassed more than 200,000 readers.


U.S. President Donald Trump departs for Camp David from the White House in Washington, U.S., January 5, 2018. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

Both are known to the public; Winfrey was the third most famous woman in 2017. Trump was the second most famous man in the same year, according to Gallup in 2017.

Both have testified before Congress. Winfrey appeared as a witness to a bill allowing childcare centers to conduct criminal examinations for job candidates in 1991.Trump spent many years attacking U.S. officials who allow Indians to set up Indian gambling casinos and he testified in 1993 before Congress where he also accused all officials and attacked Indians of being superstitious and of having different ethnic and religious backgrounds than Americans.

Both of them played the role of the king's prince. Winfrey supported Barack Obama during the 2008 primaries, which may have played a big role in his victory over Hillary Clinton. Trump supported Mitt Romney at the Gob Primary in 2012.

Winfrey did not have many comments in the last presidential elections, but has done so sporadically on various issues, allowing her to run a huge campaign without actually revealing any detailed plans, as did Trump in 2016.

On the other hand, a White House spokesman said on Monday that Trump would “welcome” Winfrey if she decided to challenge him for the presidency in 2020.

“We welcome the challenge, whether it be Oprah Winfrey or anybody else,” deputy press secretary Hogan Gidley said to the reporters aboard Air Force One.

Here are some deference between Winfrey and Trump

Despite all these similarities, there are also differences between Trump and Winfrey, such as her position on Islam. Winfrey confirmed the tolerance of the Islamic religion through her program “Belief” in 2015; whereas Trump, from the start of his campaign, has attacked Muslims, and when he took office, he banned the entry of Muslims from seven countries to the U.S. last September and planned to deport Muslim immigrants from the country.

Winfrey is known for her advocacy of ethnic and religious minorities and for providing them with constant assistance, and she is a strong advocate of women. Trump, on the other hand, is well known for his racism, which emerged clearly during the violence provoked by the American far right in Charlottesville, Virginia.

He was also known for his lack of respect for women, and this is clearly demonstrated in a number of charges against him in cases of harassment.

Also, Winfrey and Trump are different in skin, color, sex and family; Winfrey is from a poor family and struggled many years to be a television star, while Trump was born in a rich family and managed to make a huge fortune.