President Donald Trump ignited a decades-old feud with comedian Rosie O’Donnell on Saturday by threatening to revoke her U.S. citizenship. In a post on Truth Social, Trump declared that O’Donnell was a ‘threat to humanity’ and considered removing her citizenship, suggesting she should return to Ireland.
This assertion has no basis in law, as the U.S. Constitution guarantees citizenship through the 14th Amendment for anyone born in the country. O’Donnell, born in Commack, New York, is a U.S. citizen by birth.
The post follows ongoing efforts by the Trump administration to challenge birthright citizenship for the children of non-citizen parents, although these efforts have faced legal obstacles.
In addition to targeting O’Donnell, Trump hinted at looking into whether New York City’s Democratic mayoral nominee, Zohran Mamdani, may be in the U.S. illegally, despite having no evidence of such claims. Mamdani is a naturalized citizen, having been born in Uganda and gained citizenship in 2018.
O’Donnell quickly fired back on Instagram, mocking Trump and his fixation on her. ‘Hey Donald — you’re rattled again? 18 years later and I still live rent-free in that collapsing brain of yours,’ she wrote.
She continued, ‘You call me a threat to humanity — but I’m everything you fear: a loud woman, a queer woman, a mother who tells the truth, an American who got out of the country before you set it ablaze.’
The post included an image of Trump with disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, although O’Donnell did not mention Epstein in her caption. This comes amid recent scrutiny of the Trump administration’s claims regarding Epstein’s client list.
O’Donnell also likened Trump to King Joffrey from ‘Game of Thrones’ in her response to his citizenship threat. ‘You want to revoke my citizenship? Go ahead and try, King Joffrey with a tangerine spray tan. I’m not yours to silence, I never was.’
The exchange has brought renewed attention to the long-standing animosity between the two. Their feud began in 2006 when O’Donnell criticized Trump while co-hosting ‘The View’ over his handling of a Miss USA winner. Since then, their conflict has continued to draw media attention, particularly during Trump’s presidential campaigns.
O’Donnell’s recent post comes in the wake of her move to Ireland, which she announced in March 2025 via TikTok. She indicated a potential return to the U.S. would only occur when all citizens were guaranteed equal rights.
She mentioned that she is in the process of obtaining Irish citizenship through her grandparents, as the U.S. permits dual citizenship. Trump’s remarks during a meeting with Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin earlier this year expressed his disapproval of O’Donnell’s choice to relocate, asking, ‘Why in the world would you let Rosie O’Donnell move to Ireland? I think she’s going to lower your happiness levels.’
The public exchanges between Trump and O’Donnell are emblematic of the broader cultural and political divisions that continue to shape discourse in the United States, highlighting how deeply personal rivalries can manifest in the political arena.
image source from：nbcnews
