President Trump is mulling over the idea of revoking the American citizenship of longtime critic and comedienne Rosie O’Donnell, who is born in the United States. “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,” reads his latest post on Truth Social, a social media platform that he owns. “She is a Threat to Humanity, and should remain in the wonderful Country of Ireland, if they want her. GOD BLESS AMERICA!”
O’Donnell, moved to Ireland shortly after Trump’s re-election, responded with a statement on Instagram: “the president of the usa has always hated the fact that i see him for who he is – a criminal con man sexual abusing liar out to harm our nation to serve himself – this is why i moved to ireland – he is a dangerous old soulless man with dementia who lacks empathy compassion and basic humanity- i stand in direct opposition all he represents- so do millions of others – u gonna deport all who stand against ur evil tendencies – ur a bad joke who cant form a coherent sentence.”
O’Donnell’s criticism of Donald Trump predates his foray into politics, going back to her time on The View in 2006, where she criticized Trump following his treatment of that year’s winner of the Miss USA pageant, which he owned at the time. She didn’t call out his behavior in that regard directly at the time, instead telling her co-hosts that he was “not a self-made man” and a “snake oil salesman.” In an interview with Seth Meyers in 2017, she revealed her feelings on his treatment of Tara Conner, saying he was giving her a “second chance” after reports emerged of her partying in New York. “What is he, the pimp and she’s the prostitute?” she said, explaining how she felt at the time of the incident. “He’s the moral arbiter of 20-year-old behavior now, right?”
The conflict between the reality TV star and the comedienne escalated from there, with barbs traded back and forth over the years. Trump mentioned her in a 2015 presidential debate, when moderator Megyn Kelly questioned him on his use of language such as “fat pigs,” “dogs,” “slobs,” and “disgusting animals” when speaking of certain women, to which then-candidate Trump replied, “only Rosie O’Donnell.”
It is not the first instance of Donald Trump bringing a person’s citizenship into a political debate. After Zohran Mamdani’s victory in the Democratic mayoral primary for New York City, Donald Trump falsely implied that he was not an American citizen, telling reporters that “a lot of people are saying he’s here illegally,” and that the White House was “going to look at everything.” The acceptability of the tactic is filtering down in right-wing circles, as the New York Young Republican Club called on Trump to revoke Mamdani’s citizenship shortly after his victory in June.
The president’s social media post about O’Donnell comes as a scandal regarding Jeffrey Epstein continues to swirl at the White House, after the Department of Justice and the and the FBI declared earlier in the week that the pedophile who ran in elite circles had no “client list” and that he died by suicide in his jail cell in 2019, claims which many, including Trump supporters, strongly doubt. Trump was a longtime associate of Epstein, appearing in public together many times over the years before Epstein faced sex trafficking charges in Florida. The statement from the federal agencies also declares that investigators “did not uncover evidence that could predicate an investigation against uncharged third parties.” The scandal has reportedly brought about a schism in the president’s inner circle, with FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino reportedly getting into a heated argument with Attorney General Pam Bondi in the Oval Office on Wednesday, with the former reportedly considering resigning over the matter.
