She may not be running for president herself but it appears that Oprah Winfrey has found one person who she thinks could make a great president: Disney CEO Bob Iger.
Along with actress Jennifer Garner, Winfrey expressed her hopes that the Disney chief was going to throw his hat into the 2020 race for the Democrat nomination, according to Variety.
Presenting an award to Iger at the Save the Children Centennial Celebration: Once in a Lifetime Gala in Los Angeles on Wednesday, Winfrey was wistful about an Iger run for the White House.
“I’ll tell you the truth, this is not really where I intended to be tonight,” Winfrey told the crowd. “I was hoping that by this time in early fall, I would be knocking on doors in Des Moines, wearing an ‘Iger 2020’ t-shirt. Because I really do believe that Bob Iger’s guidance and decency is exactly what the country needs right now.”
Actress Jennifer Garner was also adamant that Iger would make a great presidential candidate.
“Mr. Iger is everything you could want in a leader,” Garner said. “I dare to say he is presidential. He’s dignified, he’s a risk-taker, he is down to earth, he is wise, and he has integrity. I would hand him any job I possibly could,” she added.
“Is it too late?” Garner added.
For his part, Iger invoked Ronald Reagan from the dais.
“Oprah, I am reminded of something that Ronald Reagan said to Jimmy Carter in the 1980 presidential debate, ‘There you go again.’ Please, I am not about to become the 25th or the 30th person seeking the presidency in 2020,” Iger joked.
He went on to say that he hopes whoever becomes president in 2020 will “make the safety and well-being of children their number one priority.”
Iger was rumored to have been considering a run for the Democrat nomination early this year and even took a meeting with former President Barack Obama on the issue.
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston.
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