White House spokesperson Davis Ingle delivered a blistering response to O’Donnell, 64, in a statement reported by People on Thursday, August 20. “Rosie O’Donnell is a nasty woman and a total slob whose brain has been completely destroyed by Trump Derangement Syndrome,” Ingle said.
The White House statement came a day after O’Donnell used her Wednesday guest monologue on Jimmy Kimmel Live! to take aim at the president, 80, whom she dubbed “President Petty Roosevelt.” She also referenced devoted White House aide Natalie Harp, joking, “You gotta realize it’s time to hang up your wig and let Natalie tuck you in,” per the report.
Preston Harp told CNN that Natalie’s devotion to the president stems from an upbringing built on “American exceptionalism,” saying, “I think that my sister unfortunately didn’t break out of that delusion [our mother] raised us with, and Trump is like everything that my Mom taught us to respect.” He also addressed a 2023 incident in which Natalie allegedly climbed into the trunk of a Trump motorcade vehicle to accompany him to an event, calling it “an unhealthy obsession.”
O’Donnell addressed the White House insult head-on at the top of her Thursday monologue, telling the studio audience, “Welcome to Jimmy Kimmel Live. I am your guest host, ‘Nasty’ Rosie O’Donnell,” TVInsider reported on Friday, August 21.
Francis Chung – Pool via CNP / MEGA
Per the report, O’Donnell continued, “I’ve really enjoyed my time here. Thanks to everyone who’s been watching this week, especially the hungry, hungry hypocrite in the White House. Kind of weird to think he spent more nights with me this week than Melania.” She closed the bit by thanking Jimmy Kimmel “for reminding everyone that we have the right to free speech in this country, whether Orange Voldemort likes it or not.”
The A League of Our Own actress went further, capping her run with a parody of “Danny Boy” aimed squarely at the president. “O Donnie boy, it’s Rosie, Rosie calling, from Hollywood, The Jimmy Kimmel Show,” she sang, later adding, “Poor Donnie boy, your polls, your polls are falling … Why not resign and make this country great again?”
O’Donnell opened her week behind the desk on Monday by recounting her family’s move to Dublin, Ireland, and calling the president a “mango Mussolini” before staring into the camera to declare, “Hi! I know you’re watching!”
The pair’s public sparring stretches back two decades, and the president even threatened in 2025 to revoke O’Donnell’s U.S. citizenship, NBC News reported.
Her guest hosting stint hasn’t been drama-free behind the scenes, either. As National Enquirer also reported, comedian Kathy Griffin said she was stung after not landing a spot among O’Donnell’s lineup of guests, venting in an Instagram video that her “feelings are really hurt.” O’Donnell responded in the comments section, telling her longtime friend she “didn’t choose the guests” for the show.