Ever since her speech at the Golden Globes, people have been floating the idea of Oprah Winfrey for President. This is, of course, a silly idea. Or it would have been, before Trump. Oprah, like Trump, has no experience in government. Like Trump, Oprah is a celebrity who has had considerable success at business. And like Trump, Oprah embraces junk science. If not for the example of Trump, electing her President would seem ludicrous and highly unlikely.
(This is not to say that Oprah is the same as Trump. Oprah is, as far as I can tell, a much better person.)
I wonder, when the Republicans chose Trump as their candidate for President, didn’t they realize they would be normalizing the idea of an inexperienced celebrity President? And if so, didn’t they realize which party has the most celebrities?
Republicans are going to learn that lesson the hard way when the Winfrey/Hanks 2020 campaign heats up.
I think Schwarzenegger, and Jesse Ventura before him, confirmed that celebrity is in fact the biggest advantage with American voters. Winfrey or Hanks, Harisson Ford, Clint Eastwood, George Clooney……any one of these as a candidate would win in a walk against a standard politician. Such is the state of the modern American electorate. I remain convinced that if Trump had not been a fixture on TV and a celebrity…..say, simply a businessman running for office such as Ross Perot…..he never would have gotten the nomination let alone the win.