Rosie O’Donnell Rails Against President Trump After He Threatened To Revoke Her Citizenship Over Her Ireland Move: ‘Go Ahead and Try’

Former TV host Rosie O’Donnell has furiously hit out at President Donald Trump in a lengthy online tirade after he threatened to revoke her U.S. citizenship over her move to Ireland.

O’Donnell, 63, took to Instagram to share a picture of Trump posing with accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, accompanying the image with a lengthy rant in which she told the president to “go ahead and try” to take away her citizenship, adding: “I’m not yours to silence. I never was.”

The “Harriet the Spy” star, who quit the U.S. and moved to Ireland in January in the wake of Trump’s reelection, made the comments after Trump, 79, spoke out against her in a post on his Truth Social account, claiming that he was giving “serious consideration” to stripping her of her rights as a U.S. citizen.

“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,” he wrote.

“She is a Threat to Humanity, and should remain in the wonderful Country of Ireland, if they want her. God Bless America!”

O’Donnell then penned her own fiery retort, mockingly stating that she was surprised how easily she had “rattled” the president, while accusing him of being afraid of her.

“Hey Donald—you’re rattled again? 18 years later and I still live rent-free in that collapsing brain of yours. 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 b4 u set it ablaze,” she railed. 

“You crave loyalty—I teach my children to question power you sell fear on golf courses—I make art about surviving trauma you lie, you steal, you degrade—I nurture, I create, I persist. You are everything that is wrong with America… I’m not yours to silence. I never was.”

O’Donnell received an outpouring of support from a number of celebrities after sharing her response—including comedian Ellen DeGeneres, who herself relocated from the U.S. to the U.K. with her wife, Portia de Rossi, at the end of 2024, with many suggesting that the move was also motivated by Trump’s victory in the presidential election.

Posting a screenshot of Trump’s Truth Social post alongside O’Donnell’s retort, DeGeneres simply wrote: “Good for you, Rosie.”

O’Donnell first revealed that she had left the U.S. back in January—explaining at the time that she was in the process of applying for Irish citizenship, a status that she is eligible for thanks to her Irish grandparents.

The comedian is currently living in a rented property with her youngest child, Dakota “Clay” O’Donnell, 12, while she attempts to obtain her Irish citizenship—a process that she says has made her reluctant to discuss her new home out of concern that it could cause problems with her approval.

O’Donnell waited weeks before revealing to anyone that she had moved, news that she eventually shared in a TikTok video, explaining to her followers that she no longer felt “safe” in the U.S. after Trump’s win.

In a wide-ranging interview with The New York Times, she then revealed that she began making preparations to relocate before the election had even taken place.

She admitted to the outlet that she “never thought” Trump would regain his seat in the White House but that she had grown so anxious about the prospect, her therapist encouraged her to put a plan in place in case he came out as the winner.

She explained, “I never thought he would win again, but I said, ‘If he does, I’m going to move,’ and my therapist said, ‘Well, let’s make a real plan.’”

Those plans began with the renewal of both her and Clay’s passports, she shared, noting that she had never considered herself much of a “traveler” so didn’t feel the need to keep them up to date.

“I got my passport renewed, I got Clay’s passport renewed. My brother has his passport. All my cousins have their passports. But I was never a traveler,” she said.

Though she is new to the country, O’Donnell said that her new environment still feels very familiar to her, noting that she sees “reflections” of her loved ones all around her.

“I see reflections of myself in this country everywhere I look, and reflections of my family and my very Irish childhood,” she said.

While speaking with US Weekly, the TV mogul detailed the tricky situation that led to her and Clay having to find a new home after they moved across the pond.

After finding what they thought to be the perfect property in Glengarry, a suburb of Dublin, they were devastated to learn that their first home abroad, which they found online, had mold issues.

“[We] could not move there, especially with an autistic child who has some allergy issues. And so we ended up in Howth. There’s a great, great school there. And Clay has done very well. And they were really welcoming.”

“And I love the little town, the little village. It’s in the heart of Dublin, but it’s still a village where you know the name of the grocer and you know the name of the cashiers. People are unbearably kind in a way that shocks me every single day,” she told the outlet.

O’Donnell admitted that she would consider returning to the States after Trump leaves office and the country is “safe” again. She did not mention the president by name, instead referring only to what is “happening politically” in the country.

The former TV show host has been embroiled in a bitter feud with Trump since 2006, when the two began a furious debate about his decision to show leniency toward Miss USA Tara Conner, who was accused of drug use.

O’Donnell hammered Trump as a hypocrite after he initially criticized Conner, before later U-turning, prompting the then-businessman to fire back, branding “The View” host “fat” and “a slob” in a furious tirade.

The pair’s bitter spat then continued for many years.

It is unclear on what basis Trump would revoke O’Donnell’s citizenship; however, under the current law, Americans can retain their U.S. citizenship even if they are granted citizenship in a different country.