Oprah Winfrey once attempted to persuade Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) to run for president with her as his vice-presidential candidate, according to a new book. She made her plea in 2020 to ward off the possible reelection of former President Donald Trump.
This scheme, Romney told journalist McKay Coppins, was her attempt to rescue the nation with a “unity ticket.” Coppins wrote the soon-to-be-published biography “Romney: A Reckoning.” A source familiar with the writing exposed the plan to Axios.
That near-miss is similar to the feeling a person experiences when they are almost involved in a horrific automobile accident but somehow avoided it.
The book, which will hit the shelves next week, asserts that Romney rejected the plan. He believed a partnership with Oprah running for the White House would benefit Trump’s candidacy more than it would damage it.
On that, he was likely correct.
For her part, the wannabe spiritual guru reportedly is pushing back against Romney’s claim that she was willing to join him on a presidential ticket. A spokesperson told The Hollywood Reporter that she did not consider a political run and did not ask Romney to join her.
Romney says Oprah pitched 2020 unity ticket with her a VP to stop Trump, 'save the country' | Just The News https://t.co/bt8xSmFiXP
— John Solomon (@jsolomonReports) October 17, 2023
The outlet reported, “In Nov. 2019, Ms Winfrey called Sen. Romney to encourage him to run on an independent ticket,” her spokesperson said. “She was not calling to be part of the ticket and was never considering running herself.”
In the forthcoming book, however, Coppins asserts that Winfrey told Romney that former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg was readying to enter the race in 2020.
An excerpt obtained by the New York Times claimed Bloomberg solicited Winfrey to be his running mate. Coppins said that as Oprah considered the offer, she wanted to check with Romney on his interest in pursuing the presidency again.
According to the Times, Winfrey did not believe that Joe Biden or Pete Buttigieg could defeat Trump. The former talk show host was “certain” that Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) would fail.
Romney apparently entertained the idea of another run for president. In an excerpt provided to The Atlantic, the Utah Republican “relished the idea of running a presidential campaign in which he could say whatever he thought, without regard for the political consequences.”
According to Coppins, the senator said he would love to be on stage with Trump to be able to proclaim, “That’s stupid. Why are you saying that?”
Apparently, he and Oprah ultimately realized the two would not stand a chance against Trump.
