Oprah Winfrey and Mitt Romney running on the same ticket for the White House was once considered a possibility, according to a new report.
In the forthcoming book, “Romney: A Reckoning,” the Utah senator recalls Winfrey suggesting that the two could “save the country” if they joined together for a presidential run in 2020.
With close ties to the Kennedys and the Obamas, the 69-year-old billionaire media mogul has been a major influence on the Democratic Party.
Axios reported Monday that Romney, 76, told biographer McKay Coppins that Winfrey pitched the unity ticket with the moderate senator and former Massachusetts governor in the new biography that will be released next week.
Romney, who was the 2012 Republican presidential nominee, reportedly rejected the idea because he thought it would guarantee a second term for then-President Donald Trump.
A source told Axios that Winfrey was never serious about running for the highest office in the land. However, her closest friends encouraged the idea.
“CBS This Morning” co-host Gayle King, Winfrey’s best friend, said in 2018 that the star host was “intrigued” by the idea.
And even though Winfrey’s longtime romantic partner, Stedman Graham, told the Los Angeles Times that year that she would “absolutely” run for office if “the people” wanted her to, King said he had misinterpreted the question.
“Stedman would never so cavalierly say absolutely she would do it,” she added. “He would never do that.”
Romney, a staunch critic of Trump, said in September he would not seek reelection to the Senate in 2024.
___
© 2023 New York Daily News
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
