- NBC took down a tweet that critics said endorsed Oprah Winfrey for president.
- Winfrey is said to be seriously considering a presidential bid in 2020.
NBC on Monday deleted a tweet that appeared to endorse Oprah Winfrey for president.
Shortly after the Golden Globes host Seth Meyers jokingly encouraged the media mogul to seek the presidency in 2020, NBC's primary Twitter account tweeted a GIF of Winfrey along with the caption "Nothing but respect for OUR future president," a riff on a popular meme.
Many conservatives and right-leaning media figures quickly criticized the tweet, calling it an example of mainstream media bias.
In a tweet on Monday, NBC said the tweet was shared by a third-party agency running the account for the awards show and not from someone at the network or the network's primary news arms, NBC News and MSNBC.
"Yesterday a tweet about the Golden Globes and Oprah Winfrey was sent by a third party agency for NBC Entertainment in real time during the broadcast," NBC said in a statement. "It is in reference to a joke made during the monologue and not meant to be a political statement. We have since removed the tweet."
Though Winfrey has repeatedly denied that she is interested in a presidential bid, her electrifying speech at Sunday night's awards show inspired speculation about her potential presidential aspirations. On Monday, CNN reported that Winfrey was seriously considering a bid.