‘If she declares, I will back her’: Steven Spielberg supports Oprah Winfrey for US President 2020

Steven Spielberg has said that he will back Oprah Winfrey if she runs for President in 2020.

The Oscar-winning director is the latest big-name star to publicly speak out in support of the legendary broadcaster, amid reports that she is ‘actively thinking’ of putting herself forward as a Democratic candidate.

“I think Oprah Winfrey would make an absolutely brilliant president,” he told the Guardian on Thursday. “If she declares, I will back her.”

He added: “She is crackerjack on the money on women’s issues and I call her the ambassador of empathy. And our country could use a dose of empathy right now.”

Asked if Winfrey had the right skills to run the country, the director said: “Does our current president have the skill set to be president?”

Meryl Streep, who stars in Spielberg’s forthcoming film the Post, recently said that Winfrey had the “voice of a leader” as she reiterated her support for the star.

“No-one can speak in less lofty terms and adhere to principle and passion in a political campaign, because we've seen that it's possible,” she told Andrew Marr.

“She’s certainly set the bar pretty high for anybody else who decides to run.”

A host of Hollywood stars including Reese Witherspoon, Seth Meyers and Sarah Silverman have been vocal in their support of Winfrey.

Golden Globes host Meyers set the ball rolling during his opening monologue on Sunday night, telling the crowd that reverse psychology could persuade Winfrey to run.

"In 2011, I told some jokes about our current president at the White House correspondents' dinner, jokes about how he was unqualified to be president," he said.

"And some have said that night convinced him to run. And if that's true, I would just like to say Oprah you will never be president."