Rosie O’Donnell quietly visited US to 'see it was safe' after Trump’s citizenship threat
DUBLIN, IRELAND: Rosie O’Donnell recently made a secret trip back to the United States to see whether she could travel safely after President Donald Trump threatened to revoke her citizenship.
After living in Ireland for over a year, the comedian said she “wanted to see how hard it would be” for her “to get in and out of the country.”
Rosie O’Donnell tests US travel safety
During an interview on SiriusXM’s 'Cuomo Mornings,' Rosie O’Donnell told host Chris Cuomo that she went home for two weeks without telling anyone.
She wanted to see how difficult it would be to enter and leave the United States and explained, “I recently went home for two weeks and I did not really tell anyone. I just went to see my family.”
She also noted, “I wanted to see how hard it would be for me to get in and out of the country,” adding, “I wanted to feel what it felt like. I wanted to hold my children again. And I hadn’t been home in over a year.”
The actress also had a practical reason for the visit. She wanted to make sure things were safe before bringing her 13-year-old child back for a summer vacation. “I also wanted to make sure that it was safe for me before I brought my daughter this summer, where we plan to spend the summertime off from her schooling here with my family,” she further explained.
Rosie O’Donnell says US felt 'scary'
O’Donnell, who moved to Ireland in early 2025, said she found a “very different country” when she returned. She told Chris Cuomo that she hasn’t been watching the news and enjoys her life in Ireland because “I’ve been in a place where celebrity worship does not exist."
She feels that her new life gives her “more balance” and stated that she doesn’t “regret leaving at all.” In her view, the move was necessary, explaining, “I think I did what I needed to do to save myself, my child and my sanity.”
However, the 63-year-old star described the “energy” she felt while visiting the United States as “scary.”
She expressed that she felt a sense of unease during her two-week stay. “There’s a feeling that something is really wrong, and no one is doing anything about it,” she said, describing the atmosphere she encountered back home.
Trump–Rosie O’Donnell citizenship clash escalates
The tension between O’Donnell and Trump escalated in July 2025 when the president suggested on Truth Social that he might revoke her citizenship.
He wrote, “Because of the fact that Rosie O’Donnell is not in the best interests of our Great Country, I am giving serious consideration to taking away her Citizenship,” calling her a “Threat to Humanity.”
O’Donnell responded on Instagram by calling the president a “criminal con man” and a “bad joke who cant form a coherent sentence.”
