“I care deeply about our country and what’s happening to it. And the world, the environment and everything that’s going on.”

Comedian and talk show host Ellen Degeneres recently told “Variety” magazine that she plans to “get political” in 2020 — will she use her famed talk show as a platform?

With the next presidential election coming up next year — and so many hot-button issues on the line — the stakes are higher than ever. Clearly, the catalyst for all of this is the polarizing presidency of Donald Trump in his first term in the White House.

Perhaps this is why the beloved comedian feels a need to wield her considerable influence on her very public platform.

“I care deeply about our country and what’s happening to it,” Degeneres told “Variety” while promoting her new Netflix stand-up comedy special, “Relatable”. “And the world, the environment and everything that’s going on. I have my opinions. I try not to bring it in. I’m not a political comedian. I’m political but I’m not the kind of person that’s going to talk about politics in standup. But I definitely think that we need a change, and we’ll figure out who that person is. I’m going to wait and see who ends up getting everybody’s vote and we’ll see who I get behind… I kind of have a candidate but I’m just going to wait.”

Although the comedian has indeed shied away from politics on her long-running daytime talk show, DeGeneres has recently invited several candidates on to discuss their plans, including Cory Booker and the first openly gay presidential hopeful, Pete Buttigieg.

Degeneres has also invited former President Barack Obama and his wife, former First Lady Michelle Obama, on her show in the past.

Barack awarded Degeneres with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2016, the nation’s highest civilian honor, recognizing those who have made a significant cultural contribution to the nation.

Since “The Ellen Degeneres Show” debuted in 2003, it has been a ratings hit and won over fifty Daytime Emmy Awards. Renewed until at least 2020, Degeneres has disclosed that she has no plans to end her talk show anytime soon, leaving it open to how she feels “in a few years”.

In the past, the comedian has publicly voiced support for certain causes such as the boycott of hotels owned by the Sultan of Brunei, in response to the persecution of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ) people in his country.

Oscar-winning star George Clooney led the charge to boycott such businesses which included the Beverly Hills Hotel. Subsequently, the Sultan of Brunei put an end to his country’s death penalty for people accused of engaging in homosexual sex. After only a month of international pressure and boycotts, it was viewed as one of the fastest major victories for LGBTQ activists in recent memory.