What we know about where Oprah stands on policy issues

Media mogul Oprah Winfrey has provided a window into her worldviews and politics over the years. PHOTO: AFP

WASHINGTON - Interest in media mogul Oprah Winfrey's political career has not died down following her campaign-style speech at the Golden Globes on Sunday night.

"For too long, women have not been heard or believed if they dared speak their truth to the power of those men. But their time is up. Their time is up. Their time is up," she said while accepting the Cecil B. DeMille award.

Even Ivanka Trump called Oprah's words "inspiring" and challenged Americans to "come together, women & men, & say TIMESUP!" But beyond her views on women's empowerment, critics have cautioned that advocating for her candidacy is premature, considering how little we know about her policy positions.

Winfrey hasn't laid out any formal positions. After all, she is not running. But she has provided a window into her worldviews and politics over the years, which has included endorsements of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. Here's what we know about where she stands on some political issues.

LGBT issues

"I have a different view of 'Christian' than you do," she said to a woman in her audience in 1997, referencing the Bible's condemnation of homosexuality. The audience member was challenging Winfrey's decision to interview Ellen DeGeneres about her coming out.

"The God I serve doesn't care whether you're tall or short, or whether you were born black or Asian or gay. And that's just a difference of belief. And I don't expect to change your belief today.

"I believe God created Ellen. I believe God did that. Ellen says she's gay. I believe God created her gay. I support her right to be who she thinks she is."

Gun control

In a 2013 commencement address at Harvard University, Winfrey recalled the heartache of parents who lost children during the Sandy Hook massacre. She said: "We understand that the vast majority of people in this country believe in stronger background checks because they realise that we can uphold the Second Amendment and also reduce the violence that is robbing us of our children. They don't have to be incompatible."

Immigration

In that same speech, Winfrey shared her support for a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants. "We understand that most Americans believe in a clear path to citizenship for the 12,000,000 undocumented immigrants who reside in this country because it's possible to both enforce our laws and at the same time embrace the words on the Statue of Liberty that have welcomed generations of huddled masses to our shores. We can do both."

Gender pay equality

On discovering that her female producers were making less than their male counterparts, Winfrey told her boss that she would not work unless her team was better compensated. "Either my producers are going to get raises or I'm going to sit down. I just won't work. I will not work unless they get paid more money," she told TIME.

She was successful in getting them raises.

There are far more issues that American voters care about than these, and the above statements are not the totality of Winfrey's positions.

But it's safe to say that most of President Donald Trump's supporters likely don't support her views. White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Tuesday (Jan 9) that she disagrees with the views Winfrey has made public so far.

"I disagree very much on her policy," she said. "In terms of where she stands, I would find a lot of problems with that."

Democratic excitement about Winfrey aside, strategist Symone Sanders, former press secretary for Senator Bernie Sanders' 2016 presidential campaign, said that if anything, the media mogul gives party voters more options in 2020.

"I think the larger conversation for me is that we should not be setting up a coronation for anyone. It's the people that will decide who the nominee is. No system, entity or outside group," Symone Sanders said.

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