Television icon Oprah Winfrey made a surprise appearance at the Democratic National Convention (DNC) in her hometown of Chicago, urging Democrats and independents to “choose common sense over nonsense.”
Addressing a cheering crowd on Wednesday, Winfrey said, “Let us choose truth, let us choose honour, let us choose joy. Because that is the best of America.”
The 70-year-old, who has largely stayed out of the political spotlight in recent years, lent her star power to Vice-President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, on the third night of the four-day convention.
Her remarks came just before Walz’s primetime speech to formally accept the party’s nomination for vice-president, adding extra energy to the event, which had already seen appearances from other celebrities like rapper Lil Jon.
Winfrey’s speech carried a message of unity while also subtly criticising the Republican challengers, former President Donald Trump and Ohio Senator JD Vance.
“Despite what some would have you think, we are not so different from our neighbours,” Winfrey said. “When a house is on fire, we don’t ask about the homeowner’s race or religion, we don’t wonder who their partner is or how they voted. No. We just try to do the best we can to save them.”
In a jab at Vance, she added, “And if the place happens to belong to a childless cat lady, well, we try to get that cat out, too.”
This comment was a reference to a 2021 interview where Vance described Democratic politicians as “a bunch of childless cat ladies who are miserable at their own lives and the choices that they’ve made and so they want to make the rest of the country miserable, too.”
