Rosie O’Donnell returns to U.S. for visit after relocating to Ireland following 2024 election

(RightwingJournal.com) – Rosie O’Donnell, who fled to Ireland after Trump’s 2024 re-election claiming she needed safety and sanity, quietly slipped back into the United States for a two-week family visit, exposing the hollowness of yet another celebrity’s dramatic political exit.

Story Highlights

O’Donnell relocated to Ireland in January 2025 before Trump’s second inauguration, citing safety concerns and political exile
She returned quietly to the US for family visits despite her public declarations of fleeing “Trump’s America”
Trump threatened to revoke her citizenship twice in 2025, though such action is constitutionally impossible for natural-born citizens
O’Donnell continues pursuing Irish dual citizenship while maintaining she has no regrets about leaving

Celebrity Exodus Rings Hollow

O’Donnell moved to Ireland with her teenage daughter in January 2025, just before President Trump’s second inauguration. The comedian claimed she needed to escape for her family’s safety and her own sanity, joining a long tradition of Hollywood elites threatening to leave America when elections don’t go their way. Unlike the empty promises of 2016, O’Donnell actually followed through, praising Ireland’s “balanced news” and lack of celebrity worship. Yet her recent stealth return for a two-week family visit undermines her dramatic departure narrative.

Twenty-Year Feud Escalates

The bitter personal conflict between O’Donnell and Trump spans two decades, originating from her 2006 criticisms of him on The View during his Atlantic City casino troubles. Trump repeatedly used O’Donnell as a “punching bag” to energize his base throughout his political career. After Trump’s 2024 victory, O’Donnell questioned the election’s legitimacy on Irish television, suggesting Elon Musk influenced voting systems and noting discrepancies in rally sizes versus swing-state results. Trump responded with Truth Social posts in July and September 2025 threatening to revoke her citizenship.

Constitutional Rights vs Political Theater

Trump’s citizenship revocation threats, while inflammatory, carry no legal weight under the Fourteenth Amendment, which protects natural-born citizens like O’Donnell from such action. White House officials mocked her departure, with one spokesperson calling it “great news for America.” O’Donnell defended her constitutional rights while simultaneously pursuing Irish dual citizenship, claiming Ireland offered her daughter normalcy and a life free from America’s “dystopian nightmare” of censorship and corruption. Her application for Irish citizenship remains pending as of early 2026.

Testing the Waters Back Home

O’Donnell revealed her quiet US return during an interview on SiriusXM’s Cuomo Mornings, explaining she wanted to “hold my children again” and assess whether summer visits would be safe for her daughter. She described America as feeling “different” from her Irish exile but insisted she has no regrets about leaving. The comedian plans periodic visits while maintaining her primary residence in Ireland, where her daughter reportedly prefers to stay. This hedging exposes the performative nature of her exile, revealing a wealthy celebrity who can afford to treat citizenship like a timeshare arrangement while ordinary Americans weather policies they never voted for.

O’Donnell’s situation highlights the disconnect between coastal elites and everyday Americans. While she jets between countries debating which offers better “sanity,” millions of citizens endure the consequences of leftist policies without the luxury of escape. Her complaints about election integrity ring particularly hollow given the previous administration’s suppression of conservative voices and weaponization of federal agencies. The feud ultimately represents broader cultural divisions, with Trump supporters viewing her departure as validation while critics see her safety concerns as legitimate responses to presidential threats, however unconstitutional those threats may be.