Here’s Everything We Know About Oprah’s Actual Politics
Amber Randall
Civil Rights Reporter
After Oprah Winfrey gave a speech at the Golden Globe Awards Sunday night, people began wondering if she would enter into a presidential run in 2020.
While Winfrey has coyly sidestepped actually announcing a run, others have called on her to run against President Donald Trump under the hashtag #Oprah2020, while various media outlets ran headlines wondering if she would run and what a Winfrey presidency would look like.
Though Winfrey has been in the national spotlight for upwards of 20 years, she has not been particularly vocal about her political inclinations.
Here’s what we do know about Winfrey’s political leanings:
1.) She’s advocated for a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants.
Winfrey called for a path to citizenship for the “12 million undocumented immigrants in the country” while giving the 2013 commencement address at Harvard University.
“And we understand that most Americans believe in a clear path to citizenship for the 12,000,000 undocumented immigrants who reside in this country because it’s possible to both enforce our laws and at the same time embrace the words on the Statue of Liberty that have welcomed generations of huddled masses to our shores. We can do both,” Winfrey told the crowd.
2.) She’s called for stricter gun control.
After the 2016 Orlando shooting, Winfrey questioned whether it was necessary for people to own assault rifles, while during her Harvard speech she noted that most people believed in stricter background checks.
“You know, one side says ‘Guns don’t kill people. People kill people.’ That is true,” Winfrey said. “But are we a country that really believes that assault weapons should be made available to anybody? Are assault weapons necessary? I just say, ‘Enough.’ When are we going to be conscious enough to say, ‘That doesn’t make any sense?’ We have the right to bear arms, but do we have the right to bear assault weapons? That’s what I ask.”
3.) She’s donated to the Democratic National Committee and supported Democratic candidates in the past.
Winfrey has come out and given big endorsements to major Democratic candidates. She donated $5,000 to the DNC in 1998 and another $10,000 to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee in 1996.
She officially endorsed former President Barack Obama in the 2008 election and also gave $2,300 to his campaign. Winfrey also supported Sen. Cory Booker in 2013 when he was making a run for the United States Senate, hosting a fundraiser for him.
Winfrey would later go on to endorse former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential election. To her, Clinton’s candidacy was a “seminal moment for women.”
4.) She’s supportive of gay marriage.
Winfrey once suggested that gay couples being able to get married might help the institution of marriage itself.
“Maybe the gay people can help it,” Winfrey said on a 2013 panel.
5.) She’s passionate about education.
Winfrey has long been an advocate for education and its ability to give someone access to better opportunities. Not only did she start a school for girls in South Africa, but she also donated $6 million to United States charter schools through her Angel Network foundation.
Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2018/01/08/heres-everything-we-know-about-oprahs-actual-politics/
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