Rosie O’Donnell weighs in on Trump’s scathing response to her self-deportation months after she fled the US for Ireland over his presidency

Rosie O’Donnell has weighed in after the Prime Minister of Ireland’s visit to the White House was hijacked by jokes about her self-deportation.

O’Donnell, 63, moved to Dublin with her youngest child Clay, 12, in January 2025, amid Trump’s inauguration for a second term, and is in the process of securing her Irish citizenship through descent.

After speaking out about her self-deportation, the talk show host received a scathing response from Trump when the US President met Irish Taoiseach Micheál Martin in Washington D.C for St Patrick’s Day.

During the joint meeting, a reporter asked Martin ‘why in the world’ he allowed O’Donnell into the country, prompting Trump to ask: ‘Did you know you have Rosie O’Donnell? Do you know who she is?’

When Martin demurred, chuckling and shaking his head, Trump told him: ‘You’re better off not knowing.’

The mother-of-five has now broken her silence on the incident during an appearance on Late Late Show in Ireland, admitting she found it ‘surreal’ as she took the opportunity to once again hit out at Trump.

In an interview with the Late Late Show in Ireland, O'Donnell said she was aware of the interaction and found it 'surreal' - taking the opportunity to once again hit out at Trump
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In an interview with the Late Late Show in Ireland, O’Donnell said she was aware of the interaction and found it ‘surreal’ – taking the opportunity to once again hit out at Trump

Trump tells Ireland leader he’s better off not knowing who Rosie O’Donnell is

‘I felt very troubled that they put the Taoiseach (Irish prime minister) in that position and didn’t treat him with the respect that a leader of that kind deserves when he’s visiting the White House,’ she said.

O’Donnell also revealed she ‘wrote the Taoiseach a little note apology to his email’ after she saw the incident.

She said: ‘I got a note back that they had received it and thanked me. But I just wanted him to know the history and what happened and why [Trump] seems to be out to get me in ways that are startling to most.

‘The President of the United States has it out for me and has for 20 years,’ she went on, adding that ‘he sort of uses me as a punchline whenever he feels the need’.

Martin appeared to take Trump’s March 12 comments in his stride, slightly chuckling when he was asked about O’Donnell, before the discussion swiftly moved on.

The diehard liberal actress – who has a long history of speaking out against the conservative president – shared in a nine-minute video after Trump was elected her decision to ‘self deport’ because she did not want to live in ‘Trump’s America‘.

O’Donnell relocated to Ireland with her youngest child Clay, who is non-binary and goes by they/them pronouns.

She is also mother to four more adult children – sons Parker, 29, Blake, 25, and daughters Chelsea, 27, and Vivienne, 22.

Taoiseach Micheal Martin and President Donald Trump in the Oval Office
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Taoiseach Micheal Martin and President Donald Trump in the Oval Office

‘I was never someone who thought I would move to another country. That’s what I decided would be the best for myself and my 12-year-old child. And here we are,’ she said.

‘It’s been heartbreaking to see what’s happening politically and hard for me personally as well. The personal is political, as we all know.’

O’Donnell adopted all five of her children. She adopted her eldest child Parker as a single mother but her ex-wife Kelli Carpenter later also became his legal parent.

She went on to adopt Chelsea, Blake and Vivienne during her relationship with Carpenter before they went their separate ways in 2007.

O’Donnell then adopted Clay with her second wife, Michelle Rounds, in 2013. The couple went their separate ways in 2015 and Rounds tragically died in 2017.

O’Donnell has long been critical of Trump and his presidency and took to TikTok to bash Time magazine for naming him as its man of the year for 2024.

‘Man of the year, Donald Trump. Well, f**k you Time Magazine. F**k you, seriously,’ she said. ‘How about most dangerous man of the year? How about most criminal man of the year? How about the worst president we’ve ever had… of the year.’

The duo’s feud dates back as far as 2006, after O’Donnell criticized Trump on The View over his response to a Miss USA winner who had been accused of drug use.

She has moved to Dublin with her youngest child Clay. She is also mother to sons Parker, 29, Blake, 25, and daughters Chelsea, 27, Vivienne, 22 (she is pictured with Chelsea and Clay)
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She has moved to Dublin with her youngest child Clay. She is also mother to sons Parker, 29, Blake, 25, and daughters Chelsea, 27, Vivienne, 22 (she is pictured with Chelsea and Clay)

Rosie O’Donnell confirms Ireland move and reveals how she may retract

At the time, Trump branded her a ‘real loser’.

Since then, the tit-for-tat accelerated after Trump was elected – and then re-elected – into the White House.

In one of more recent critiques, she shared a video on TikTok of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky hugging children and picking them up with a smile on his face.

‘If only the current president had a drop of his caring committed heart #resist #protest #defythem #love #FDT,’ she wrote in the caption.

O’Donnell’s self-deportation sparked waves of celebration within MAGA, many of whom declared it a ‘win for Trump’.

Robby Starbuck, a conservative activist and filmmaker proudly declared that Trump got the liberal comedian to ‘self deport.’ He celebrated: ‘Promises made, promises kept!’

One person posted on X and pointed out that left-wing celebrities are ‘actually making good on their threats’ to leave the country this time around, whereas in Trump’s first term they largely didn’t follow through.