The author of an upcoming book about Sen. Mitt Romney claims Oprah Winfrey suggested to Romney that they form a unity presidential ticket to prevent Donald Trump’s reelection in 2020, according to The New York Times.
According to McKay Coppins, author of an upcoming book “Romney: A Reckoning,” Romney dismissed the idea brought to him by Winfrey because he thought the campaign would inadvertently help Trump.
According to a spokesperson for Winfrey, “In November 2019, Ms. Winfrey called Senator Romney to encourage him to run on an Independent ticket. She was not calling to be part of the ticket and was never considering running herself.”
According to Variety, a source “familiar with Winfrey’s thinking” told Axios, who first reported the story, that she was never serious about running.
The Times reported that Winfrey had talked with Ann Romney, Mitt Romney’s wife in 2019 telling her that former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg had approached her about joining his ticket for office and wanted to gauge Mitt Romney’s interest before deciding.
In “Romney: A Reckoning,” Coppins writes that Winfrey doubted Joe Biden or Pete Buttigieg could beat Trump and was “certain” Elizabeth Warren could not.
The book says Ann Romney told Winfrey that Romney would not run for president in 2020 either as a Republican or as an independent.
“Romney: A Reckoning” comes out Oct. 24.