Talk show and media icon Oprah Winfrey endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris as her presidential candidate on Wednesday.
“We will elect Kamala Harris as the next president of the United States,” Winfrey said in a speech that drew thunderous applause at the Democratic National Convention.
Winfrey also made a series of jabs at Republican candidate Donald Trump and his vice presidential candidate, Senator JD Vance of Ohio.
“We have been through ridiculous tweets, lies and silliness,” Winfrey once said.
Elsewhere in her speech, she referred to Vance’s controversial comments in which he denigrated “childless cat ladies.”
“When a house burns, we don’t ask the race or religion of the homeowner. We don’t ask who his partner is or how he voted. No, we just try to do our best to save him,” she said.
“And if the apartment happens to belong to a childless female cat, then we will also try to get the cat out.”
In Winfrey’s speech that evening, the decision between Harris and Trump came down to which candidate represented “the best of America.”
“Very soon, we will be telling our daughters and sons” how Harris, the child of immigrants, “grew up and became the 47th president of the United States,” Winfrey said. “That’s the best thing about America.”
“Let us choose the sweet promise of tomorrow over the bitter return to yesterday,” she said. “We will not go back. We will not allow ourselves to be thrown back, pushed back, pushed back, pushed back. We will not go back.”
“But more than anything else, we should choose freedom,” she said. “Why? Because that’s the best thing about America. We are all Americans, and together we should choose Kamala Harris!”
The appearance, which was reported by several news agencies on Wednesday morning but kept secret by the DNC, is notable not only because of Winfrey’s star status.
The influential media pioneer has largely stayed out of the political fray throughout her career and, according to CBS anchor Gayle King, a close friend of Winfrey, had “no intention of getting involved in Harris’ campaign.”
Winfrey’s first endorsement of a political candidate was for then-Senator Barack Obama in the 2008 presidential election. According to one study, Winfrey’s endorsement brought Obama around one million votes in the Democratic primaries.
She also supported former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election and President Joe Biden in the 2020 election cycle.
This is breaking news, please check back later for updates.
