Stephen Colbert Rejects Oprah’s Denial of Presidential Goals: ‘She’s Running’
Hours after Oprah Winfrey supported Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams at a campaign event, Stephen Colbert analyzed the mega-celebrity’s political impact during Thursday’s Late Show.
Winfrey claimed during her impassioned speech that she isn’t testing the waters for a presidential run, telling the crowd, “I want to make it very clear to all the press, everybody that I’m not here because I’m making some grand stand because I’m thinking about running myself. I don’t want to run, OK?” But Colbert shot down that idea point-blank, responding, “She’s running.”
The comedian emphasized the personal “sacrifice” Winfrey, a registered independent, made by endorsing Abrams, the first female African-American gubernatorial nominee in U.S. history. “To take this partisan political stand, Oprah is leaving 60 Minutes,” Colbert said. “You know what that means? She’s out of a job. How is she gonna pay her bills? We gotta set up a GoFundMe, so…she can fund us.”
During an emotional high point of her address, Winfrey shamed non-voters for “dishonoring” and “disrespecting” late family members who weren’t given the privilege of voting. “Wow,” Colbert cracked. “I’ve heard of families guilt-tripping you, but only Oprah can make a family guilt-trip you from beyond the grave.”
The host also highlighted a campaign event for Abrams’ Republican opponent, Brian Kemp, featuring Vice President Mike Pence. During his speech, Pence tried to counter Abrams’ liberal appeal with a folky message: “This ain’t Hollywood. This is Georgia.”
“This ain’t Hollywood, Oprah,” Colbert mocked. “We don’t cotton to big-city billionaires who are also TV stars. Take it from me, Vice President to Donald Trump.”