Rosie O’Donnell says Donald Trump feud is like ‘post-traumatic stress disorder’
Rosie O’Donnell has spoke of her ongoing feud with Donald Trump (Image: Getty Images)
Rosie O’Donnell has said her decades-long feud with Donald Trump has felt like “post-traumatic stress disorder”, adding that stepping away from constant coverage of him has helped her “reclaim” who she was before it began.
In a People interview, the comedian and actor described the toll of being repeatedly singled out by the US president. “It’s like a post-traumatic stress disorder for me, considering it’s been 20 years of him using me as a punchline,” she said.
O’Donnell also reflected on the surreal nature of the dynamic. “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 said distance from the relentless news cycle has changed her day-to-day life. “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 said, adding that it “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”.
O’Donnell and Trump’s feud
The public clash dates back to 2006. O’Donnell criticised Trump’s “moral compass”, after which he called her a “woman out of control”.
Since, he has spoken regularly about her and even claimed he was “giving serious thought” to revoking her US citizenship – even though the 14th amendment of the US constitution would not allow him to.
O’Donnell came out publicly in 2002 and has long been a prominent LGBTQ+ figure in US entertainment, and has been outspoken on progressive politics and LGBTQ+ rights, including marriage equality and anti-bullying advocacy.
She has described returning to the US from Ireland as “scary” after having moved to Ireland in January 2025 at the start of Trump’s second term.
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