Gayle King Says Oprah Is 'Intrigued By The Idea' Of Running For President

Gayle King, CBS This Morning host and Oprah Winfreys longtime friend, on Tuesday downplayed speculation that Winfrey would pursue a presidential bid in 2020 .

I dont think at this point shes actually considering it, King said on CBS amid an outpouring of speculation sparked by Winfreys stirring speech at Sundays Golden Globes. She loves this country and would like to be of service in some way but I dont think shes actively considering it at this time.

.@GayleKing on @Oprah considering running for president in 2020? \"I absolutely don't think that her position has changed... I do think she's intrigued by the idea. I also know after years of watching the Oprah show, you always have a right to change your mind.\" pic.twitter.com/w1enMPGT9C

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.@GayleKing on @Oprah considering running for president in 2020? "I absolutely don't think that her position has changed... I do think she's intrigued by the idea. I also know after years of watching the Oprah show, you always have a right to change your mind." pic.twitter.com/w1enMPGT9C
CBS This Morning (@CBSThisMorning) January 9, 2018

But King said Winfrey could change her position.

I do think shes intrigued by the idea. I do think that. I also know after years of watching the Oprah show, you always have a right to change your mind, King said.

Winfreys longtime partner Stedman Graham told the Los Angeles Times Sunday that she would absolutely do it, referring to a presidential run.

King, however, said Graham may have misinterpreted the question as would she be a good president? not whether she would run.

King, who attended Sundays Golden Globes ceremony with Winfrey and Graham, also shared details about the speech. She said Winfrey declined producers request to cut the length to three minutes from six minutes. Winfreys appearance ended up taking nine minutes because of the applause, King added.

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Being in that room was electrifying. It was the right person, giving the right speech, at the right time, King said. She wanted that moment to be more than women wearing black dresses of solidarity. She really did want to speak to young girls around the country. She really did want to say, enough already, and I think she delivered on all of that in a very eloquent way.

But King insisted it was absolutely not true that Winfrey meant the speech to be a launching pad for any future political plans.

Im not trying to be cute here or be mysterious, King said, but I do think its a very intriguing thing.