The US is abuzz this week with speculation that Oprah Winfrey could mount a presidential campaign against Donald Trump in 2020.
All this talk of Oprah seeking high office was sparked by her long-time partner Stedman Graham, who backed her potential presidential ambitions after she delivered a hugely inspirational speech at Sunday's Golden Globes.
'It's up to the people,' Stedman told reporters. 'She would absolutely do it.'
With even Trump's own daughter Ivanka praising Oprah's Golden Globes speech, White House reporters asked the president directly about a potential challenge from the fellow business mogul on Tuesday.
Of course, Trump boasted: 'Yeah, I'll beat Oprah.'
Seconds later, he downplayed the likelihood that Oprah will even run: 'Oprah would be a lot of fun. I know her very well. You know, I did one of her last shows.
'She had Donald Trump — this was before politics — [on] her last week [of her talk show], and she had Donald Trump and my family. It was very nice… I like Oprah. I don't think she's going to run… I know her very well.'
Yes, he really did refer to himself in the third-person. Someone with a similar speech pattern is The Rock, who recently confirmed that he's considering his own run for the presidency at some point in the foreseeable future.
But luckily for Trump, Dwayne Johnson has delayed any presidential campaign until at least 2024 because of his hugely busy schedule as a Hollywood leading man.
'I couldn't do both [movies and politics],' he acknowledged. 'Realistically, as we go into 2018, when you look at my slate as we're developing and shooting into 2019 and 2020, the slate goes deep into 2021, so it feels like the realistic consideration would be 2024.'
