Rosie O’Donnell is known for being one of President Donald Trump’s most vocal critics, but her ongoing feud with him actually started long before he became president. It’s been two decades now, and Trump was merely a TV personality and businessperson when it all started. Or, as O’Donnell puts it, “a reality show host who is a bloviating idiot.”
Over the years, Trump has mocked O’Donnell’s appearance, called her names, and insulted her repeatedly. Now that he’s president, he has continued to lash out at her and has even threatened to revoke her citizenship. During an interview with People, O’Donnell admitted that her life feels “very trippy” because of this feud.
On the surface, it does sound kind of ridiculous.
In 2006, O’Donnell was a co-host on The View. Meanwhile, Trump co-owned the Miss USA competition. O’Donnell didn’t approve of how he handled a controversy at the time and she let him know, calling him a “snake oil salesman.” Trump did not take these comments well, and afterwards, told People that O’Donnell was “a real loser.” He also threatened to take “lots of money from my nice, fat little Rosie.” Which actually sounds a lot like how he speaks about his critics now.
When speaking to People, O’Donnell reflected on how the progression of this story is so far-fetched that it almost sounds fake. But it’s her life. She explained, “First of all, if you had written this as a movie, a stand-up comic makes fun of a reality show host who is a bloviating idiot and he ends up being the president, and then he doesn’t shut up about her for 20 years, it would be unbelievable — and the fact that it’s my life is very trippy.”
She also suggested that the feud has impacted her mental health.
Just before Trump’s 2025 inauguration, O’Donnell moved to Ireland. Moving has changed her, she told People. And she thinks not being so consumed by the news about Trump is part of it.
“I am softer I think as a result of being there, of the welcome that we got, and as a result of me not being constantly bombarded by news about the current president,” she explained.
She also added that “it’s like a post-traumatic stress disorder for me, considering it’s been 20 years of him using me as a punchline.”
Trump and O’Donnell have both continued to criticize each other while she’s living in Ireland.
But still, she feels better there. “I think that has allowed me to reclaim myself, who I was before all that went down, even though it’s very strange to have supposedly the most powerful man in the word be your arch nemesis,” she told People.
And it really is strange. The feud between Trump and O’Donnell is obviously no longer just a feud between two celebrities. O’Donnell has had to deal with threats, public insults, and strange AI-generated depictions of her, all coming from the president of the United States.
But that hasn’t stopped her from voicing how she really feels about him. While in the U.S. in June, O’Donnell attended the Tony Awards. She criticized Trump during multiple interviews.
“If you grew up in New York, you knew he was an a–hole and a liar from day one,” she told Variety, adding, “He is a con man. He is a narcissist. And he is a psychopath, if you ask me.”
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