CNN senior media correspondent Brian Stelter is in love with the idea of Oprah Winfrey running for president in 2020.
Winfrey sparked speculation on social media that she will launch a White House bid after she received the Cecil B. DeMille Award for lifetime achievement at the Golden Globes on Sunday, delivering a speech that received several standing ovations and became a viral hit online.
Stelter admitted that, immediately after Winfrey's speech, he was on the phone with her closest friends and business associates to investigate if the speech was the beginning of a 2020 campaign.
"The minute she finished that speech at the Golden Globes, I started calling her friends, her confidants, her business associates," Stelter said.
The morning after the Golden Globes, Stelter frequently speculated about Winfrey running for president. That afternoon, Stelter reported that sources close to Winfrey said that she is "actively thinking" about running for president.
The two friends, who requested anonymity in order to speak freely, talked in the wake of Winfrey's extraordinary speech at the Golden Globes Sunday night, which spurred chatter about a 2020 run.
Some of Winfrey's confidants have been privately urging her to run, the sources said.
One of the sources said these conversations date back several months. The person emphasized that Winfrey has not made up her mind about running.
Winfrey herself has not officially commented on the 2020 speculation.
Her longtime partner, Stedman Graham, told the Los Angeles Times that Winfrey would "absolutely" run for president.
"It's up to the people. She would absolutely do it," Stedman said.
One thing that CNN loves more than missing planes is a billionaire TV star with no political or military experience running for president.
Stelter gave comment to the Washington Free Beacon that the title of the article should be "CNN Is Reporting On The Possibility Of Oprah 2020."
An accurate headline would say "CNN Is Reporting On The Possibility Of Oprah 2020" https://t.co/QbGSxq2w65
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) January 10, 2018
UPDATE 2:25 p.m.: This article was updated with Stelter's comment.