Going into the second round of 2020 Democratic presidential debates starting Tuesday, Marianne Williamson is looking to present herself as a serious contender rather than fodder for Twitter memes.
In an interview with USA Today published Sunday, the candidate admitted she wasn’t too happy with the public perception of her from the first debate last month.
“I hope that this time my delivery will be more aligned with my substance,” she said. “I don’t regret the substance of anything I said, but I understand that my delivery made me vulnerable to mockery.”
Williamson, an author, activist and Oprah’s spiritual adviser, caught fire on social media during the June 27 debate, becoming the most-Googled candidate of the night. Though she spoke for a mere five minutes, she gained attention for her unusual mid-Atlantic accent and eyebrow-raising answers ― including a love-based campaign strategy to defeat President Donald Trump and a shoutout to New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, whom she called “girlfriend.”
Taking note of her eccentric style, Twitter users compared her to Gwenyth Paltrow’s natural health company, Goop, and this year’s whimsical Met Gala theme, “camp.”
Williamson’s struggle to be seen as a legitimate candidate became further evident when she was left out of a Vogue article published earlier this month featuring interviews with every woman running for president in 2020 ― except her.
Speaking out against the magazine on Instagram, Williamson suggested it represented “the insidious influence of an elite on patrol.”
“The issue is ethical responsibility on the part of the media,” she said. “The framers of the Constitution did not make Vogue magazine the gate keepers of America’s political process, here to determine who and who is not to be considered a serious political candidate.”
Responding to the criticism, the magazine told CNN in a statement that it only wished to focus on candidates with experience as elected officials.
For the first night of this week’s debate in Detroit, Williamson will be joined on stage by nine other candidates, including Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.); South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg; and former Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-Texas).