Politics
Rosie O’Donnell Taunts President Trump During TV Return: ‘I Know You’re Watching’
Rosie O’Donnell is reigniting her decades-long feud with President Donald Trump — on one of his least-favorite TV shows.
The comedian, 64, kicked off a week-long late-night guest-hosting stint on ABC on Monday, August 17, by recalling how she decided to relocate to Ireland ahead of Trump’s second inauguration. Her child, Clay, explained at school that the family was moving “because the president of the United States hates my mother. But in all fairness, I believe my mother hates him more.”
She then stopped to look directly into the camera, declaring, “Hi! I know you’re watching!”
While much of her monologue focused on her new life abroad, the former Rosie O’Donnell Show host couldn’t resist taking several swipes at Trump, 80, including referring to him as a “mango Mussolini.”
She later joked that Trump was “in the White House crying, because I haven’t mentioned him.”
The pair’s bitter feud has played out publicly for decades, beginning when O’Donnell criticized him on The View in 2006, prompting the Apprentice alum to call her “a woman out of control” to People.
The president even threatened to revoke O’Donnell’s U.S. citizenship in 2025, per PBS.
“He’s a liar, and a fraud, and a fake,” the Flintstones actress said during an appearance on Today that year. “If you grew up in New York, you knew that…I don’t really go for trying to nickname someone. I try to shame him, for who he is and what he is, with facts. He’s been threatening for 20 years to sue me. [But] you can’t sue someone who tells the truth about you.”
And with A League of Their Own star set to fill in for Jimmy Kimmel throughout the week, she suggested the drama is far from over.
“If you thought the president hated Jimmy Kimmel Live when it was hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, buckle up!” she quipped.
Despite her return behind a late-night desk, O’Donnell has said she has no plans to make the move permanent and will return to Ireland after her guest-hosting duties conclude.
