President Donald Trump on Saturday said he is considering revoking the citizenship of one of his longtime foes actor and comedian Rosie O’Donnell — something he has no clear legal pathway to do.
The move is an escalation of Trump’s weaponization of American citizenship. While the president has enacted mass deportations for immigrants and looked to end birthright citizenship for the children of some immigrants, his threat to revoke the New York-born actor’s citizenship marks a new frontier.
“Because of the fact that Rosie O’Donnell is not in the best interests of our Great Country, I am giving serious consideration to taking away her Citizenship,” Trump wrote in a Saturday morning Truth Social post.
“She is a Threat to Humanity, and should remain in the wonderful Country of Ireland, if they want her. GOD BLESS AMERICA!” he added.
O’Donnell, a long-time critic of the president, relocated to Ireland over her distaste with the president and his administration.
The comedian, in response to Trump’s Saturday post, called the president a “criminal,” “con man,” and “sexual abusing liar.”
“I stand in direct opposition [of] all he represents,” she wrote on Instagram. “So do millions of others.”
Since Trump returned to the White House earlier this year, the administration has sought to revoke green cards from foreign-born students activists who have criticized the country’s foreign policy decisions, particularly amid the Israel-Hamas war. The administration maintains it is following the law and these individuals are threats to the the country.
In March, O’Donnell uploaded a post on TikTok with her daughter, telling followers, “When, you know, it is safe for all citizens to have equal rights there in America, that’s when we will consider coming back.”
“It’s been heartbreaking to see what’s happening politically and hard for me personally as well. The personal is political, as we all know,” O’Donnell added.
She later said she was “sleeping better” after the move to a community that was “welcoming” and “loving” signaling that an end to her feud with Trump wasn’t near in sight.
O’Donnell first came to blows with the president in 2006 when she called Trump a “snake-oil salesman” for allowing former Miss USA, Tara Conner to keep her title amid drug-use allegations.
From there, the two’s hope for a clear sailing relationship has veered off course.
“Rosie is a very unattractive person, both inside and out,” Donald Trump said in a decades old interview on “Entertainment Tonight.”
“She’s basically a disaster,” he concluded.
Profile
Early Life and Background
Rise on Television
Time on The View
Film Roles
LGBTQ+ Advocacy and Family
Philanthropic Efforts
Health and Well‑Being
Moving to Ireland
Trump’s Threat
The White House has not said whether Trump was serious about the threat or how he would follow through on it, especially since there is no established legal way to strip a natural-born citizen of their citizenship.
Trump has taken steps during his time in office to limit how people become citizens and has also looked into ways to revoke citizenship in some cases.
However, below are what to know about Comedian Rosie O’Donnell:
Early Life and Background
Roseann O’Donnell was born on March 21, 1962, in Commack, New York. She was the third of five children. Her mother died when Rosie was 11. She and her siblings were sexually abused by their father and have a family history of “generational abuse and alcoholism.”
“There were a lot of tragic deaths, early deaths, and alcoholism. There was a lot of abuse,” she said, referring to her father’s side of the family.
Rise on Television
In June 1996, The Rosie O’Donnell Show launched with a celebrity-filled lineup and quickly made an impact. It won an Emmy for best talk‑show host that year. In 2000, Rosie teamed up with Gruner & Jahr USA to launch Rosie’s McCall’s. She left in 2002 after disagreements about content; she wanted the magazine to focus more on real-life issues. That same year, she publicly came out as gay.
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Time on The View
After her talk show ended in 2002, Rosie appeared in small roles on TV and in TV movies like Riding the Bus with My Sister (2005). In September 2006, she joined The View, stirring debate and boosting ratings. She often debated conservative Elisabeth Hasselbeck on topics like the Bush administration and the Iraq War. Her public feud with Donald Trump began during this period. She left The View in May 2007.
Film Roles
Rosie appeared in A League of Their Own (1992), Sleepless in Seattle (1993), Another Stakeout (1993), and The Flintstones (1994). In Exit to Eden (1994), she took the lead role but received mixed reviews from critics.
LGBTQ+ Advocacy and Family
Rosie came out in 2002 and has been a strong advocate for same-sex adoption. She’s adopted five children and supports LGBTQ+ rights. In 2004, she helped launch R Family Vacations, offering cruises for gay and lesbian families. HBO later aired All Aboard! Rosie’s Family Cruise in 2006. Her memoirs include Find Me (2002) and Celebrity Detox (2007).
Philanthropic Efforts
In 2006, she donated $5.7 million for Hurricane Katrina relief and used her Find Me memoir advance to start the “For All” foundation. She also earned a Lucy Award in 2002 for her work improving women’s representation on TV. Some of her own reflections include:
“I’d always been able to see that everyone else’s success was merited—but it seemed like mine must be a fluke,” and “When you don’t have that anticipation of wanting to do well, then you might as well not be doing it at all.”
Health and Well‑Being
Rosie has spoken openly about dealing with depression and experienced a heart attack in 2012. Since then, she has promoted meditation and wellness practices.
Moving to Ireland
After Donald Trump was re‑elected, Rosie moved with her son to Ireland in January 2025 and is applying for Irish citizenship based on her family roots.
Trump’s Threat
As a longtime critic of Trump who never stopped despite moving out of America and recently blamed the President over the recent Texas flood, Trump responded to her criticism on Truth Social by threatening to strip her U.S. citizenship:
“Because of the fact that Rosie O’Donnell is not in the best interests of our Great Country, I am giving serious consideration to taking away her Citizenship. She is a Threat to Humanity….”
This threat echoes their long-standing public feud, which began in 2006. During a 2015 Republican debate, Trump was asked about using names like “fat pigs, dogs, slobs and disgusting animals” for women. He replied: “Only Rosie O’Donnell.”
Legal experts point out that Trump cannot revoke citizenship from someone born in the U.S. under the 14th Amendment.