Oprah Winfrey is ‘100%’ behind Barack Obama’s re-election

Oprah Winfrey has said that she fully supports Barack Obama in his campaign for reelection in the 2012 elections.

The influential talk show host, who was a major presence on his campaign trail in 2008, is praising the President’s leadership and pledging to help him however she can, short of an express endorsement.

“I don’t need to endorse him because I am a 100% supporter and I’ve already endorsed him,” the New York Daily News quoted her as telling CNN.

“If he or his office called me tomorrow and said that they needed me I would do whatever I thought would be of service,” she said.

The non-endorsement follows a report earlier that she would not publicly endorse Obama during his re-election campaign for fear of alienating viewers who might tune into her Oprah Winfrey Network - a suggestion she dismissed at the time.

Winfrey said she stumped for Obama in 2008 to help educate Americans.

“My own friends didn’t even know who he was at the time,” she said.

The talk show host said that if Obama gets re-elected his biggest challenge will be “getting our economy back in order, and building a sense of confidence in the American people so that they know that their futures can be sustainable”.