To kick off Season Two of The Thrive Global Podcast with iHeart Radio and Sleep Number, Thrive Global founder and CEO Arianna Huffington sat down with CBS This Morning co-host, O Magazine editor-at-large and media icon Gayle King. In a wide-ranging conversation, Huffington and King spoke about everything from King’s social media habits and morning routine to self-acceptance and the possibility of an Oprah presidential run.
King said Oprah would be a “great president,” but she doesn’t “see it in the cards for her right now.” Being president should be your life’s calling, King said, and anyone running for president “should not have to be convinced to run.”
“She would be under a microscope, and it’s not that she has you know, secrets, ’cause she’s told them all, but it would totally upend her life,” King said. “But I also saw, on the Oprah Winfrey show years ago, ‘you always have the right to change your mind.’”
King, who has been best friends with Oprah for over 40 years, said sometimes all you need in life is “one good friend” whom you trust, who supports you and who always tells you the truth.
King explained that Donald Trump has “changed the game” in terms of how Americans view the presidency. “If you would’ve told me that anybody, Republican or Democrat, could be elected President of the United States with no political experience, I would’ve said, ‘You’re crazy.’”
In reference to the Golden Globes speech that sparked speculation about Oprah’s presidential ambition, King said Oprah hadn’t intended on it being a presidential speech. But “something happened” in the moment that raised it to a “whole different level.”
“Regardless of how this administration turns out, you just want somebody who wants what’s best for this country,” King said. “And who’s trying to figure out a way to unite us.”
To hear the full conversation on iHeartRadio, click here.
You can also listen to the Thrive Global podcast internationally for free on iTunes and Stitcher.