Oprah Winfrey is definitely not running for president, but she is trying to figure out who should.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter published Tuesday, Winfrey acknowledged that she has a lot of power when it comes to promoting Democratic presidential candidates. So she's "studying the field" to figure out who she'll back, and hinted that the South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg is on her radar.
Of course, advocating for Buttigieg would mean Winfrey would need to learn how to pronounce his name — something she jokingly seemed unwilling to do in her interview with the Reporter. She's currently reading Shortest Way Home, a book by the candidate she likes to call "Buttabeep, Buttaboop," and said "the name's either going to really hurt or ... I think it's going to help, actually." In fact, Winfrey went on to recall a time she used her Butta-what-now nickname to suggest Steven Spielberg do his own research on the rising star Democrat.
Oprah on Mayor Pete is epichttps://t.co/cQmKvc2EMG pic.twitter.com/vHLF5hLk7B
— Chris Cillizza (@CillizzaCNN) April 30, 2019
Winfrey said she's also reading Sen. Kamala Harris' (D-Calif.) book, and that she "just got the Vanity Fair piece on Beto" O'Rourke. She "already know[s]" Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), she also said, and it's all helping her "quietly figur[e] out where I'm going to use my voice in support." Read more from Winfrey at The Hollywood Reporter.
