During an appearance on Ellen DeGeneres‘ talk show, Oprah Winfrey revealed her initial reaction to Donald Trump calling her insecure.
“I don’t like giving negativity power, so I just thought, ‘What?’” said the 64-year-old media mogul.
Her reaction was in response to a tweet from Trump over the weekend that read: “Just watched a very insecure Oprah Winfrey, who at one point I knew very well, interview a panel of people on 60 Minutes. The questions were biased and slanted, the facts incorrect. Hope Oprah runs so she can be exposed and defeated just like all of the others!”
Just watched a very insecure Oprah Winfrey, who at one point I knew very well, interview a panel of people on 60 Minutes. The questions were biased and slanted, the facts incorrect. Hope Oprah runs so she can be exposed and defeated just like all of the others!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 19, 2018
Behind the controversy
This past Sunday Oprah hosted a 60 Minutes segment where she talked to a panel of voters in Grand Rapids, MI. The people selected for the panel were supporters and detractors of President Trump and they offered a diverse set of opinions.
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The 14-member group discussed a range of issues including #MeToo, the shithole countries comment, and tax reform. Anything less than absolute praise is usually deemed fake news by Trump, so it comes as no surprise that he did not take kindly to frank commentary about his policies and positions.
“What I actually really did was I went back and looked at the tape to see if there was any place that, that could be true,” Oprah said when Ellen DeGeneres asked if she thought Trump’s bias claim had any validity.
Oprah noted that she and the entire 60 Minutes team worked hard to ensure that the segment was balanced.
“What actually happened was when you do 60 Minutes, you sit in a room with at least seven other people who critique the piece before you air it, before you do the introduction to it, and then they give you the critique. So, they critique every word and is this fair—you have this whole panel of people looking at whether it was fair,” said Oprah.
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In the end, Oprah feels she did a good job. “I was working very hard to do the opposite of what I was hate tweeted about so, it’s okay,” she said.
Oprah backs what she believes
Oprah is also stepping up in the wake of the deadly school shooting in Florida last week.
The media mogul is following George and Amal Clooney’s lead and matching their $500,000 donation to March For Our Lives. The event was created in the aftermath of the deadly shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida where 17 students and teachers were gunned down.
“George and Amal, I couldn’t agree with you more,” Winfrey tweeted, in reference to the statement made by the couple announcing their donation to the movement. “I am joining forces with you and will match your $500,000 donation to March For Our Lives. These inspiring young people remind me of the Freedom Riders of the 60s who also said we’ve had ENOUGH and our voices will be heard.”
The March For Our Lives group is in the process of planning a rally in Washington, DC on March 24 in order “to demand that a comprehensive and effective bill be immediately brought before Congress to address…gun issues,” according to the organization’s mission statement.
An #Oprah2020 movement launched after her rousing speech at this year’s Golden Globes ceremony. Many called her speech empowering, inspiring and down right presidential. But, the A Wrinkle in Time stars says running for president is “not in her DNA,” so Trump may not have anything to worry about in 2020.