Late on Sunday evening, the president took to Twitter to slam Oprah Winfrey. Trump claimed she was "very insecure" and asked "biased" questions during a televised 60 Minutes voter roundtable that she hosted. Many Twitter users were quite unimpressed by Trump's dig at the television host, noting that he should probably be spending his time doing other things besides critiquing Winfrey.
The 60 Minutes segment to which Trump was referring featured Winfrey interviewing a group of Michigan voters, half of whom had voted for Trump in the 2016 presidential elections and half of whom had not. During the interview, the host touched on a variety of topics related to the trajectory of the country and Trump's presidency.
In his tweet, Trump did not refer to a particular part of Winfrey's segment, but instead gave his thoughts on the overall piece. He also expressed a "hope" that Winfrey runs for president, referring to speculation that some had that Winfrey was planning on running in 2020 after she gave a rousing speech at the Golden Globes on the #MeToo movement. In full, the president tweeted:
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!
Many on Twitter were not happy with the president's assessment of Winfrey's 60 Minutes segment, with some noting that they believe that it is an imprudent decision to critique the quite popular television host. Others also pointed out that the president, as the leader of the United States, should not be spending his time insulting other public figures.
Some on social media also made memes mocking the president for seemingly trying to take on Oprah. Indeed, one user pointed out that it was particularly egregious for Trump to take shots at Oprah on Black Panther's opening weekend, sharing a meme that read, "Bruh don't come for Oprah on Black Panther opening weekend! You really lost your d*mn mind."
Polls conducted by Rasmussen Reports back in January showed that, if she ran for president, Oprah would easily beat Donald Trump, with 48 percent of likely U.S. voters saying they would vote for Winfrey and only 38 percent saying they would vote for Trump; 14 percent were undecided.
Trump has previously said that he does not think that Oprah will run for president but that, if she did, he would beat her. Indeed, when asked by reporters in January if he could win against Oprah, the president replied:
I'd beat Oprah. Oprah would be a lot of fun. I know her very well. ... I like Oprah. I don't think she's going to run. I don't think she's going to run.
Oprah herself has repeatedly said she is not running for president. On Feb. 7, the talk show host indicated during an interview with Lin-Manuel Miranda that she was not running for office. She reiterated this assertion during a 60 Minutes Overtime interview, saying:
I am actually humbled by the fact that people think that I could be a leader of the free world, but it's just not in my spirit. ... It's not in my DNA.
Winfrey also noted that she had been shocked by the reaction to her aforementioned Golden Globes speech — and that she had not been seeking to lay the foundation for a presidential run when she delivered her rousing message.
I was just trying to give a good speech ... I was looking for a way to express what was going on in this moment in terms of gender and class and race. I cared about landing that speech in the room.
Overall, while, as of now, Winfrey does not appear to be running for President, Trump clearly still seems to find it necessary to comment on her actions and speculate about a potential run. Twitter has certainly made it clear that they do not appreciate his attacks on the beloved talk show host.
