Oprah is surveying the 2020 field — and thinks Pete 'Buttabeep, Buttaboop' is looking good

(Image credit: Bryan Bedder / Getty Images)

published 30 April 2019

Oprah Winfrey is definitely not running for president, but she is trying to figure out who should.

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter published Tuesday, Winfrey acknowledged that she has a lot of power when it comes to promoting Democratic presidential candidates. So she's "studying the field" to figure out who she'll back, and hinted that the South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg is on her radar.

Of course, advocating for Buttigieg would mean Winfrey would need to learn how to pronounce his name — something she jokingly seemed unwilling to do in her interview with the Reporter. She's currently reading Shortest Way Home, a book by the candidate she likes to call "Buttabeep, Buttaboop," and said "the name's either going to really hurt or ... I think it's going to help, actually." In fact, Winfrey went on to recall a time she used her Butta-what-now nickname to suggest Steven Spielberg do his own research on the rising star Democrat.

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Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.

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