Former US President Donald Trump has lashed out at comedian Rosie O’Donnell. Rosie criticized the Trump administration for not doing enough to address the massive flooding in Texas. Angrily, Trump said, “It seems like Rosie doesn’t need her US citizenship… so I’m thinking about revoking it.”
The two have been at odds with each other for the past 11 years. The incident has reignited an old feud between them.
What Trump Said
- Trump has lashed out at comedian Rosie O’Donnell. He said, “Rosie doesn’t need to be in our country, she should stay in Ireland.” This came on his social media handle Truth Social on July 8, 2025. In doing so, she questioned Rossi’s citizenship.
Rossi’s response
- Rosie O’Donnell also responded. She said on her Instagram on July 10, 2025, “Trump is a criminal, he is a threat to our country. I will stand against everything he stands for.”
READ MORE: Trump’s Support Among Millennials is Rising.
Background
- There was a recent major flood in Texas. About 120 people died in the flood. After this disaster, comedian Rosie O’Donnell strongly criticized the Trump administration.
- In a video on TikTok, she accused Trump of “cutting funding for important climate and weather agencies (e.g. NOAA – National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) to predict natural disasters like this flood and provide warnings and protection to the public.”
- That is, Rossi said that the Trump administration’s decision to cut funding for the companies led to a failure to anticipate potential disasters, such as flooding, which led to the deaths.
What is the legal position?
The 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guarantees that anyone born in the United States is automatically a U.S. citizen (by birth).
Rossi O’Donnell was born in New York. Therefore, she is a naturalized citizen. A president even Trump cannot legally revoke that citizenship.
Legal expert Richard Beard has explained that “you can’t deport someone who is a naturalized citizen. Trump’s comment is not legally valid, it’s just a form of political extremism.”
In short, even if Trump said he would revoke Rossi’s citizenship, it is legally impossible.
Trump-Rossi feud: Timeline
- 2014 – Trump tweets mocking Rosie O’Donnell’s weight loss, saying, “She looks like she lost weight in her sleep.” This is the beginning of a feud between the two.
- 2017 – Rosie makes a scathing statement in an interview (with W magazine) that “I doubt I’d be alive under Trump.” In other words, she criticizes Trump’s administration as truly dangerous.
- January 2025 – After Trump was re-elected, Rosie moved to Ireland with her 12-year-old son. It is understood that she did this because she did not want to live in the United States under Trump.
Extended background
Hundreds of people were affected by severe flooding in Texas. In light of this, the state government and the US federal government have launched a joint investigation.
Key question of the investigation
- Why did the early warning systems that were supposed to warn of floods not work? Were they broken? Or were they underfunded and underfunded?
Important information related to this
- The Trump administration has cut funding for climate forecasting and weather forecasting by up to $3 billion. As a result, it is suspected that such systems may have been delayed or broken in many places.
- However, Trump tried to defend his administration by visiting Texas in person on July 5 and telling the media that “all the systems worked great.”
All of this reveals the tension between the damage caused by the floods and the political response.
The form of “kidnapping” threats
He has used similar words not only with Rosie O’Donnell, but also with other political opponents of Trump.
1.Rosie O’Donnell
The debate began when Trump told Rosie to “revoke her citizenship and let her stay in Ireland.”
2.Elon Musk (June 2025)
Former aide Elon Musk is now a naturalized US citizen. Trump made the words “traitors should be deported” to him during a rally in June. This is considered a direct or indirect threat to Musk to be deported.
3.Sohran Mamdani
He is a politician running for mayor of New York. He has been accused of “supporting terrorism” in the domestic media. In particular, a case called “White Heart Denial” was discussed on June 28. Through this, it is clear that the Trump team has tried to cast him in general suspicion and portray him as pro-foreign or anti-national.
