In a 1988 interview with Oprah Winfrey, the celebrity talk show host appeared to be amazed at Americans’ ‘fascination’ with Donald Trump and even described him as a ‘folk hero’ for being so popular. 

‘Various celebrities in New York, because it was the opening concert in New York, and there were all kinds of celebrities – very, very famous people coming in to be seated. When you were seated, you got the loudest applause. People stood up and roared and cheered when you walked in,’ Winfrey said during the interview. ‘Why is that? What is this fascination?’

‘I don’t know, maybe I should be a rockstar,’ Trump replied.

‘They thought you were going to moonwalk,’ Oprah quipped. 

After Trump pondered his popularity with Oprah, she also referred to him as a ‘folk hero.’

The unearthed interview came to light a day after Winfrey made a surprise appearance at the Democratic National Convention Wednesday night, during which she railed against Trump, her former friend. 

‘We know all the old tricks and tropes that are designed to distract us from what actually matters,’ Winfrey told those gathered at Chicago’s United Center. ‘But we are beyond ridiculous tweets and lies and foolery. These are complicated times, people, and they require adult conversation. And I welcome those conversations because civilized debate is vital to democracy, and it is the best of America.’

Winfrey also took aim at comments Trump made last month, when he told supporters they ‘won’t have to vote anymore’ if they elect him because he will fix all their problems. 

‘Now, there’s a certain candidate that says if we just go to the polls this one time, that we’ll never have to do it again. Well, you know what? You’re looking at a registered Independent who’s proud to vote again and again and again because I’m an American. And that’s what Americans do. Voting is the best of America.’

Shortly after her speech, the Trump campaign posted a thank you letter that Winfrey wrote to Trump in 2000, suggesting he would be a good president and they would make a good team working together in politics.

‘I might have thought it back then,’ Winfrey said in a 2023 interview. ‘I might have thought it 23 years ago.’

Fox News Digital reached out to Winfrey for comment but did not receive an immediate response prior to publication.

‘This is typical. Many of the liberal celebrities attacking President Trump now used to love him,’ Karoline Leavitt, Trump campaign national press secretary, told Fox News Digital. ‘They only pretend to hate him now because he’s a Republican, and because they are phonies like Kamala Harris.’

CHICAGO – It’s a sight you wouldn’t expect to see.

A longtime Republican who ran for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination making the rounds at the Democratic National Convention.

But that’s the case for former two-term Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson.

‘I’m doing media. I’m not here to endorse the Democratic nominee,’ Hutchison said in an interview this week with Fox News Digital. ‘This is my first Democratic convention.’

But Hutchinson, who waged an unsuccessful long-shot bid last year for the Republican nomination, shared, ‘I did go on the floor to see the Arkansas Democratic delegation here, and I want you to know that lightning didn’t strike and so everybody was safe.’

Asked if he felt out of place among a sea of Democrats, Hutchinson said ‘a little bit but at the same time, this is well reflective of American democracy that I’m greeted with a friendly fashion… This is a good part of politics that you can disagree but still be here and be welcomed.’

The former governor remains a very vocal GOP critic of former President Trump, who crushed Hutchinson and the rest of the field of challengers to cruise to the party’s nomination. 

Asked how he’ll cast his ballot in the presidential election, Hutchinson said he’s going to ‘write in a candidate, a good Republican candidate. It’s important to me to be a Republican and support the Republican cause.’

But he added, ‘We need to define it differently than Donald Trump and the rule of law is important to me. I said on the debate stage I’m not going to vote for a convicted felon. That still holds true.’

Since Vice President Kamala Harris a month ago replaced President Biden atop the Democrats’ 2024 ticket, Trump has repeatedly slammed the vice president as a far-left politician.

Hutchinson, pointing to a controversial plan by Harris to ban price gouging, said that in order to appeal to independent voters and dissatisfied Republicans, the vice president needs ‘to persuade them [voters] that her economic policy is not so far left and the argument about price controls is doing damage to her.

‘She needs to make clear that when she talks about her economic policy it’s a fight against price gouging, which attorneys general do all across America, and not price controls. She needs to make that clear either in her convention speech or elsewhere.’

He emphasized that ‘if you want to get independents, if you want to get swing voters and even some Republicans, you’ve got to show an economic policy that makes sense for America and doesn’t scare people.’

Hutchinson, a former federal prosecutor who later served in Congress and in Cabinet-level positions in President George W. Bush’s administration, dropped out of the White House race in January, the day after he finished a distant sixth in the Iowa caucuses.

Asked whether there’s another political chapter in his long career, he said, ‘I hope so.’

‘But right now I really want to teach. I’ll be teaching at the University of Arkansas Law School next semester. I’ll be doing some things on college campuses beyond that,’ he shared. ‘We’ll see what happens in the future.’

Former President Donald Trump’s campaign called out a veiled dig at running mate, Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, made by Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz at the Democratic National Convention. 

Walz, who formally accepted the Democratic vice presidential nomination Wednesday night, addressed the United Center in Chicago by speaking of his upbringing in the Midwest. 

‘Now, I grew up in Butte, Nebraska, a town of 400 people. I had 24 kids in my high school class, and none of them went to Yale,’ Walz said, prompting laughter from the audience. ‘But I’ll tell you what. Growing up in a small town like that, you’ll learn how to take care of each other. That that family down the road, they may not think like you do. They may not pray like you do. They may not love like you do. But they’re your neighbors. And you look out for them, and they look out for you.’

The Trump War Room X account posted a clip of Walz’s remark about Yale, where Vance attended law school.

‘Walz: ‘I had 24 kids in my high school class and none of them went to Yale,’’ Trump War Room noted, adding, ‘Weird flex!’ 

Vance is the author of ‘Hillbilly Elegy,’ a memoir about his time as a Yale Law School student reflecting on growing up in Appalachia that was adapted into a Netflix film. In his debut as Trump’s running mate at the Republican National Convention, Vance was open about being raised by his grandmother, whom he described as tough and keeping him away from drugs, and who would barter with the Meals on Wheels volunteers to help feed him growing up. Vance, credited for appealing to working-class Midwesterners in the Rust Belt, also spoke of his mother’s long battle with addiction. She is now nearly 10 years sober. 

Vance enlisted in the Marine Corps right after graduating from high school in Middletown, Ohio. He attended Ohio State University and later Yale Law School. 

Fox News host Martha MacCallum asked Vance to respond to Walz’s reference to Yale, suggesting he was deeming Vance ‘Mr. Fancypants Ivy League.’ 

‘I grew up in a very poor family. I was raised by my grandmother who didn’t graduate from high school, much less from college,’ Vance responded. ‘And I am proud of the fact that she really worked her tail off – she went to her grave fighting to give me opportunities. I’m not ashamed of the fact that my grandmother sacrificed for me, and I was able to live the American Dream. I’m proud of what I accomplished, and, more importantly, I’m proud of all the people who sacrificed in order to give me a better life.’

‘I would think Tim Walz would want to praise people who sacrificed to give their children and grandchildren a better life, not put me down, but I guess this is the political order of the day,’ Vance added. ‘He’s going to attack me. That’s fine. But I’m proud of my family. I’m proud of what they sacrificed to make my life possible.’ 

Walz, by comparison, enlisted in the Army National Guard at age 17 and served for 24 years. 

He has faced recent ‘stolen valor’ attacks from fellow veterans for reportedly opting to retire to run for Congress, while his unit went to Afghanistan months later. 

According to his congressional biography, Walz earned a Bachelor of Science from Chadron State College in Nebraska. The former Minnesota high school teacher is not without Ivy League ties himself. He spent 1989-1990 teaching high school in China as part of a group of government-sanctioned American educators sent to the communist country through a program at Harvard University. 

Legendary talk show host Oprah Winfrey made a surprise appearance at the Democratic National Convention on Wednesday, when she slammed former President Trump and his vice president 24 years after she suggested he would make a good president.

‘We know all the old tricks and tropes that are designed to distract us from what actually matters,’ Winfrey told the crowd at the United Center. ‘But we are beyond ridiculous tweets and lies and foolery. These are complicated times, people, and they require adult conversation. And I welcome those conversations because civilized debate is vital to democracy, and it is the best of America.’

In another veiled shot at Trump, Winfrey said, ‘Now, there’s a certain candidate that says if we just go to the polls this one time, that we’ll never have to do it again. Well, you know what? You’re looking at a registered independent who’s proud to vote again and again and again because I’m an American. And that’s what Americans do. Voting is the best of America.’

Winfrey also took aim at Trump’s running mate, Sen. JD Vance, who faced criticism over comments about ‘childless cat ladies.’

‘When a house is on fire, we don’t ask about the homeowners’ race or religion,’ Winfrey said. ‘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. And if the place happens to belong to a childless cat lady. Well, we try to get that cat out too. Cause we are a country of people who work hard for the money. We wish our brothers and sisters well. And we pray for peace.’

Shortly after Winfrey criticized him, the Trump campaign posted a thank-you letter Winfrey wrote in 2000 suggesting that he would be a good president.

‘Too bad we’re not running for office,’ Winfrey wrote. ‘What a team!’

‘I might have thought it back then,’ Winfrey said in a 2023 interview. ‘I might have thought it 23 years ago.’

Oprah told the crowd in Chicago that she is ‘telling the truth’ when she says ‘values and character matter.’

‘Most of all,’ Winfrey said, ‘in leadership and in life, you know, this is true, that decency and respect are on the ballot in 2024. And, and just plain common sense over loyalty to any individual.’

Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., started her address on the third day of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago on Wednesday by briefly praising President Biden – despite reportedly helping to orchestrate his exit from the presidential race. 

‘On Jan. 20, 2021, with the inauguration of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, we established one of the most successful presidencies of modern times,’ Pelosi said. ‘And we quickly proved that Democrats deliver – millions of jobs, stronger infrastructure and rural broadband.’ 

‘A Biden child tax credit, rescuing human pensions, honoring our veterans, bold climate action, lowering the cost of prescription drugs all thanks to President Biden’s patriotic vision of a fairer America. Doing so with liberty and justice for all,’ she said before adding, ‘Thank you, Joe.’ 

Pelosi then shifted from the current president and championed Vice President Kamala Harris for ‘quickly securing the nomination with dignity and grace.’ 

Biden ended his re-election campaign on July 21 and immediately endorsed Harris’ presidential candidacy. This came after weeks of defections from Democratic lawmakers who implored him to withdraw from the presidential race following his rough performance in the Atlanta debate against the Republican nominee, former President Donald Trump. Despite some reporting that Pelosi had coordinated the effort to force Biden to drop out, Democrats at the convention – including Pelosi – have insisted that Biden was the one ‘who made the decision for the country.’ 

Harris secured enough delegates to become the presidential nominee on Aug. 1 during a virtual roll call conducted by the Democratic National Committee two weeks before the start of the party’s convention at the United Center in Chicago. Republicans, by contrast, did their roll call in person at their party’s convention in Milwaukee.

‘I know that Vice President Harris is ready to take us to new heights. I’ve known Kamala Harris for decades. Personally, I know her a person of deep faith, which is reflected in her community care and service,’ Pelosi said Wednesday, before also championing Harris’ record on abortion. ‘Officially, she is a leader of strength and wisdom and eloquence on policy, most recently demonstrated fighting for a woman’s right to choose. Politically, she is astute and strategic, and winning difficult elections, quickly securing the nomination with dignity and grace, and choosing Tim Walz as our vice president.’ 

As for Harris’ running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Pelosi said she had the honor of serving with him in Congress for 12 years. 

‘He united Democrats, Republicans and independents to turn a red district blue. He showed courage when he came to Congress and voting for the Affordable Care Act, meeting the needs of his constituents despite Republicans’ lies and misrepresentation,’ Pelosi said. ‘When he went home, won the election, he returned to Congress. He fought for our America’s heroes as the Democratic leader of the Veterans Affairs Committee. Thank you, Tim.’ 

Pelosi, who was serving as speaker of the House on Jan. 6, 2021, brought up the riot at the Capitol, decrying it as a ‘perilous moment for our democracy’ and placed blame on Trump – though without mentioning the Republican presidential nominee by name. 

Pelosi also called on the Democrats to ‘reject autocracy, choose democracy’ by voting for Harris and Walz. 

‘Let us not forget who assaulted democracy on January 6. He did,’ she said of Trump. ‘But let us not forget who saved democracy that day. We did. And thank God we had a Democratic House of Representatives then. We returned to the Capitol that very same night. We insisted on certifying the election results on the floors of the House and the Senate. And we demonstrated to America and to the world that American democracy prevailed.’ 

‘The parable of January 6th reminds us that our democracy is only as strong as the courage and commitment of those entrusted with its care and we must choose leaders who believe in free and fair elections, who respect the peaceful transfer of power,’ Pelosi said. ‘The choice couldn’t be clearer. Those leaders are Vice President Harris and Governor Walz.’ 

Fox News’ Alexander Hall contributed to this report.