Rosie O'Donnell has responded sharply to a recently shared AI-generated video posted by former President Donald Trump, calling him "the worst thing that has ever happened to our country." The video, shared on Trump's Truth Social platform, targeted O'Donnell and other Trump critics, including Robert De Niro and Julia Roberts, by claiming they suffered from "Trump Derangement Syndrome."
In an interview with Variety, O'Donnell criticized Trump's history, stating, "He was allowed to go on a show [The Apprentice] that was a reality show, and it was sold as fact when it was in fact fiction, because he was broke — one of the many times that he was broke — and this is a man who has been a failure at everything he’s ever tried, and he is mediocre beyond mediocre, and the fact that he is running our nation is an abomination."
She further asserted, "It's the worst thing that ever happened to our country and I think it needs to be rectified sooner rather than later if we are to remain a democratic republic."
The public exchange occurs nearly a year after O'Donnell revealed she had secretly returned to the United States after living in Ireland. She had relocated to Ireland in January 2025, citing safety concerns and the well-being of her family under Trump's leadership. Trump had previously threatened to revoke O'Donnell's U.S. citizenship in July 2025, a move she decried on Instagram as coming from a "criminal con man sexual abusing liar out to harm our nation."
O'Donnell described her brief return to the U.S. for two weeks as a way to "see how hard it would be for me to get in and out of the country" and to feel what it was like to be home with her family. She noted that the energy she felt in the United States during that visit was "scary," indicating a sense that "something is really wrong and no one is doing anything about it."
She had previously explained her move to Ireland as an effort to "save myself, my child and my sanity," seeking a life with "more balance" away from what she perceived as a lack of celebrity worship and an unsettling environment in the U.S.
O'Donnell also recently shared details about her significant weight loss, attributing it in part to the diabetes medication Mounjaro, which she noted has been a major factor in her transformation and a surprising change for someone who has "always had a weight issue."