'#Oprahforpresident': White House welcomes challenge 'whether it be Winfrey or anybody else'

American talk show host Oprah Winfrey recently delivered a Golden Globes speech. People listened, and her fans are now urging her to run for president of the United States in 2020. The White House has been quick to react on the buzz, saying that US President Donald Trump would gladly face her as an opponent in the presidential race.

A White House spokesman said on Monday that the challenge is something they would welcome, whether it be Winfrey or anybody else. Hogan Gidley assured reporters on Air Force One during a flight to Nashville that they welcome all comers.

Gidley’s remarks came after Winfrey’s speech about inequality at an awards show thrust her name into the political battlefield. During his opening monologue for the 75th Golden Globe Awards, American comedian and political commentator Seth Meyers joked that Winfrey might run for POTUS.

The 63-year-old received the Cecil B DeMille award on Sunday night. Since her speech, Twitter was flooded with tweets carrying “#Oprahforpresident” and “#Oprah2020.”

One user wrote that the only way her speech would have been more perfect was if she announced at the end that she was running for POTUS. But some opposed the idea. “I get that a lot of people like Oprah, but I really really really don't think that embracing the celebrity-for-president trend is a healthy response to recent events,” Twitter user RoBitcoin WigglesChain wrote.

Citing two close pals, CNN reported on Monday that Winfrey is actively thinking about a run. The news organisation did not name the sources, who it said had spoken on condition of anonymity.

Although Winfrey running for the nation’s highest office in 2020 remain unclear, a journalism professor at Northeastern University in Boston pointed out that she is certainly a bigger celebrity than Trump ever was, particularly in terms of making a connection with her audience. Alan Schroeder said this has given Winfrey an opportunity, Reuters reports.

It’s not the first time Winfrey has been considered a potential presidential candidate, but she had expressed unwillingness before. On a Hollywood Reporter podcast, the media mogul said she will never run for public office. She added on “CBS This Morning” that there will be no running for office of any kind for her.

Winfrey was raised by a single mother. She hosted the top-rated talk show “The Oprah Winfrey Show” for more than two decades before it ended in 2011.