Over the span of just three days, CBS This Morning devoted a whopping 28 minutes and 44 seconds to promoting possible 2020 candidate Oprah Winfrey. Co-host Gayle King (a Democratic donor) admitted in February that she is pushing her good friend Winfrey (a Democratic donor) to run for president. The talk show host appeared on the Tuesday, Thursday and Friday This Morning to tout her new book club selection and to discuss the new Oprah exhibit at the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History.
In February, CBS gave Winfrey a platform to question voters on Donald Trump’s mental illness. On June 5, however, the topic was Oprah herself. Co-host John Dickerson marveled: “Gorgeous though she is, Oprah Winfrey always understood the impact that she and her groundbreaking talk show had on this country.”
Co-host King quoted a director who compared Winfrey to a journalistic icon: “Oprah Winfrey is the person people trust. Just like Walter Cronkite.”
On June 7, King traveled to Washington D.C. to marvel in amazement at the new Winfrey exhibit. Talking to Dickerson, she promoted: “I wish I had your wordsmith skills at this moment so I could put into words how I feel. Yesterday and today and walking into this room and watching it again is humbling, it’s overwhelming, and, in Oprah's words, surreal.”
While bragging about the size of the exhibit, King hailed Winfrey’s modesty:
This is what you love more than anything is discussing yourself. I'm being very sarcastic. This is what she hates. I didn't know, Oprah, that you didn't realize what all was going into the exhibit. It's a big deal. 4,000 square feet.
On February 15, King admitted that she is actively lobbying her fellow liberal to run for president against Donald Trump. On March 6, the CBS co-host absurdly said she could be “impartial” on a Winfrey 2020 bid. On the same program, however, King pleaded her friend to run: “But I also think you have a unique ability in terms of healing and connecting all people.”
On February 19, as noted above, CBS’s 60 Minutes gave Winfrey a platform to quiz voters on Trump’s stability:
There have been some members of Congress, including Republicans, questioning his stability and fitness for office. What do you think of that, and do you believe he has the temperament to be president?
Given that King and Winfrey are best friends and both ardent supporters of Democrats, it’s hard to imagine CBS showing any kind of impartiality in such a 2020 matchup.
Partial transcripts are below. Click “expand” to read more:
CBS This Morning
6/5/18
8:22JOHN DICKERSON: Gorgeous though she is, Oprah Winfrey always understood the impact that she and her groundbreaking talk show had on this country. That is the subject of a new exhibit, Watching Oprah: The Oprah WInfrey Show and American Culture. It will open Friday at the Smithsonian's National Museum of African-American History and Culture.
GAYLE KING: This is what you love more than anything is discussing yourself. Because — I'm being very sarcastic. This is what she hates. I didn't know, Oprah, that you didn't realize what all was going into the exhibit. It's a big deal. 4,000 square feet.
GAYLE KING: I’ll just say this. Lonnie Bunch, the director, said “Oprah Winfrey is the person people trust. Just like Walter Cronkite.” And that’s true.
6/7/18
JOHN DICKERSON: The Smithsonian's African museum of African-American History and Culture is celebrating the life and career of Oprah Winfrey. Gayle is in Washington where she previewed the Watching Oprah Winfrey exhibit with Oprah yesterday. Hi, Gayle, good morning.
...
KING: I wish I had your wordsmith skills at this moment so I could put into words how I feel. Yesterday and today and walking into this room and watching it again is humbling, it’s overwhelming, and in Oprah's words are surreal.
6/8/18
NORAH O’DONNELL: This morning the new exhibit honoring Oprah Winfrey's life and career is opening at the Smithsonian National Museum of African-American History and Culture.
