Rosie O’Donnell has responded to Donald Trump’s recent threat to revoke her U.S. citizenship, along with his assertion that she is “incapable” of being a “great American.”
Trump’s late-night threat, posted on his Truth Social platform, mentioned the comedian and stated, “We are giving serious thought to taking away Rosie O’Donnell’s Citizenship.”
O’Donnell responded on Instagram with a screenshot of Trump’s post, addressing her longtime rival directly, saying, “Banishing me again?” She then alluded to the ongoing pressure for the Trump Administration to release all files related to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
“I’m the distraction. Epstein survivors are the reckoning and your gold lamé throne is melting,” she stated.
O’Donnell’s Epstein reference followed a Wednesday appeal by several of Epstein’s victims to Congress to release the files.
“It’s not okay for us to be silenced,” said Marina Lacerda, who claims she was abused by Epstein and his co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell, who is currently incarcerated.
Trump dismissed the continued interest in the case, calling it a “Democrat hoax that never ends,” while speaking to reporters in the Oval Office.
“They’re trying to get people to talk about something that is totally irrelevant to the success that we’ve had as a nation since I’ve been President,” he insisted.
The House Oversight Committee released over 30,000 pages of documents related to Epstein on Tuesday. However, Rep. Robert Garcia of California, the Committee’s top Democrat, stated that only 3% of the released files contained new information.
This is not the first instance of O’Donnell responding to Trump’s threat to strip her U.S. citizenship, nor is it the first time she has linked it to Epstein, since moving to Ireland after Trump’s re-election.
When Trump called her a “” and threatened her citizenship in July, O’Donnell rejected the idea and responded publicly.
“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 before you set it ablaze. You are everything that is wrong with America—and I’m everything you hate about what’s still right with it,” said O’Donnell, accompanying the statement with an image.
O’Donnell’s July response occurred amidst renewed attention to Trump’s past relationship with Epstein.
Trump’s connection to Epstein became a talking point. In a 2002 interview, he described Epstein as “a lot of fun to be with.”
“It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side,” Trump told the reporter.
In July 2019, NBC News’ TODAY released footage, reportedly from 1992, showing Trump welcoming Epstein to his Mar-a-Lago estate.
After Epstein’s arrest on federal sex trafficking charges, Trump distanced himself.
Speaking in the Oval Office in 2019, Trump said, “I had a falling out with him [Epstein]. I haven’t spoken to him in 15 years. I was not a fan of his, that I can tell you.”
Trump told reporters he had “never” visited “Epstein island” and suggested they ask if former President Bill Clinton had.
“The question you have to ask is, did Bill Clinton go to the island? Because Epstein had an island. That was not a good place, as I understand it, and I was never there.” Trump said. “So you have to ask, did Bill Clinton go to the island? That’s the question. If you find that out, you’re going to know a lot.”
Clinton has admitted to being an associate of Epstein but has strongly denied any knowledge of his crimes.
During the height of Trump’s feud with Elon Musk, his relationship with Epstein was brought up again. In June, Musk alleged that Trump is named in the files related to Epstein. “That is the real reason they have not been made public,” Musk stated, without providing evidence.
Meanwhile, the public disagreements between Trump and O’Donnell date back to the early 2000s, when they were both prominent figures in New York.
O’Donnell criticized Trump in 2006 on The View. Trump responded on The Apprentice, referring to O’Donnell by name multiple times.
Trump also mentioned the comedian during his 2016 presidential campaign. In a debate with Hillary Clinton, Trump said, “Rosie O’Donnell—I said very tough things to her, and I think everybody would agree that she deserves it and nobody feels sorry for her.”
O’Donnell responded at the time, saying Trump “will never be President.”
In an interview with Ireland’s RTÉ Radio 1 in July, O’Donnell commented on her long-standing feud with Trump, stating she is “very proud to be opposed to every single thing he says and does and represents.”
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