--- title: Rosie O'Donnell Responds as Trump Threatens Her Citizenship description: "I’m everything you fear," O'Donnell told Trump, who called her a "threat to humanity." canonical: https://time.com/7301997/trump-threat-us-citizenship-revoke-rosie-odonnell-epstein/ author: Callum Sutherland article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2025-07-13T14:24:54.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:49:58.671Z article:section: Politics og:title: Rosie O'Donnell Responds as Trump Threatens Her Citizenship og:description: "I’m everything you fear," O'Donnell told Trump, who called her a "threat to humanity." og:url: https://time.com/7301997/trump-threat-us-citizenship-revoke-rosie-odonnell-epstein/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7fac4547d2198273/6998c8341500fb7df0aa66db/Untitled-design-7.png?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2000 og:image:height: 1125 og:image:alt: Untitled design (7) og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Rosie O'Donnell Responds as Trump Threatens Her Citizenship twitter:description: "I’m everything you fear," O'Donnell told Trump, who called her a "threat to humanity." twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7fac4547d2198273/6998c8341500fb7df0aa66db/Untitled-design-7.png?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Rosie O'Donnell Responds to Trump's Threat to Revoke Her U.S. Citizenship, Brings Epstein Into the Row > Sponsored content. 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Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. It reaches 85,000 subscribers with a 37.0% open rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ## Video: Trump Comes to Defense of Bondi Amid Scrutiny Over Epstein Files [Watch (HLS stream): Trump Comes to Defense of Bondi Amid Scrutiny Over Epstein Files](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/2D1DLCOX.m3u8) (2:02)  _Published 2025-07-08. The 2019 death in jail of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, a billionaire financier connected with some of the most powerful people in the world and who was facing trial on sex trafficking charges, has long been the subject of fascination and conspiracy theories, especially by the right. Some were convinced he was killed in an effort to keep concealed a “list” of his high-profile co-conspirators, despite longtime observers repeatedly indicating that no such list existed._ by [Callum Sutherland](https://time.com/author/callum-sutherland/) ## Callum Sutherland Reporter Jul 13, 2025 2:24 PM UTC  Rosie O'Donnell has responded to her long-time sparring partner President Donald Trump's threat to revoke her U.S. citizenship. Rosie O'Donnell has responded to her long-time sparring partner President Donald Trump's threat to revoke her U.S. citizenship.O'Donnell: Michael Tran—Getty Images, Trump: Jim Watson—Getty Images by [Callum Sutherland](https://time.com/author/callum-sutherland/) ## Callum Sutherland Reporter Jul 13, 2025 2:24 PM UTC Comedian and actor Rosie O’Donnell has responded to[ President Donald Trump](https://time.com/7280106/trump-interview-100-days-2025/)'s threat to have her U.S. citizenship revoked, the latest move in a yearslong back-and-forth between the two New York-born former TV stars. Taking to her [Instagram on Saturday](https://www.instagram.com/p/DMAycutsTlB/?hl=en), hours after Trump’s threat, O’Donnell uploaded a picture of the U.S. President with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Trump socialized with Epstein decades ago and is now embroiled in a charged public discourse as people demand for his Administration to release the full Epstein files, something he seemed inclined to do during his campaign. Captioning the pointed image, O’Donnell, who is currently living in Ireland and seeking Irish citizenship through her grandparents’ roots, said: “I’m everything you fear. A loud woman, a queer woman, a mother who tells the truth, an American who got out of the country before you set it ablaze. You are everything that is wrong with America—and I’m everything you hate about what’s still right with it.” “You want to revoke my citizenship? Go ahead and try, King Joffrey with a tangerine spray tan,” concluded O’Donnell, making reference to the villainous child-king from the hit HBO series _Game of Thrones._ O'Donnell commented further during an appearance on the [_Sunday with Miriam_](https://www.rte.ie/radio/radio1/clips/22527495/) show on Ireland's RTÉ Radio 1. "I reacted with a little post that I jotted off in five minutes, and that's been getting a lot of attention online," she said, reiterating her response to Trump's threat. "I am very proud to be opposed to every single thing he says and does and represents." **Read More**: [_White House Speaks Out Amid Backlash Over Meme of Trump as Superman_](https://time.com/7301939/trump-superman-immigrant-white-house-meme-backlash/) On Saturday, [Trump had told his more than 10 million followers](https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/114840552173805537) on Truth Social that he was giving “serious consideration” to stripping O’Donnell of her citizenship, claiming she “is not in the best interests” of the U.S. “She is a threat to humanity and should remain in the wonderful country of Ireland, if they want her,” the U.S. President said. Trump’s threat comes as his Administration continues its attempt to rollback birthright citizenship law. On Thursday, a federal judge placed a [temporary nationwide block](https://time.com/7301583/birthright-citizenship-class-action-judge/) on Trump’s order ending birthright citizenship. Experts argue that [a 1967 Supreme Court ruling](https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/387/253/) means that the U.S. government does not have the ability to revoke the citizenship of a native-born U.S. citizen under the fourteenth amendment. Just recently,[ Trump has debated](https://time.com/7300082/trump-denaturalization-deportation-musk-mamdani-us-citizenship-history-legal-explainer/) deporting his one-time ally and now [key critic, Elon Musk,](https://time.com/7299223/musk-new-politcal-america-party-bill-trump-feud/) who was born in South Africa, and has questioned the citizenship status of Democratic New York City mayoral candidate, [Zohran Mamdani](https://time.com/7301271/zohran-mamdani-muslim-islamophobia-trump/), who was born in Uganda and became an American citizen in 2018\. However, his threat against O’Donnell is particularly loaded, as [the pair share a fraught history](https://time.com/4685575/rosie-odonnell-protest-donald-trump-address-congress/) that goes back years. O’Donnell notably criticized Trump in 2006 during an episode of the round-table talk show _The View_, of which she was a panelist. O’Donnell [mocked Trump](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64YhFQ99a-c) in relation to a press conference he appeared in for the Miss USA contest, which he co-owned at the time. Meanwhile, Trump lashed out in a celebrity-edition episode of _The Apprentice_ at a boardroom meeting, during which he [called O’Donnell “disgusting”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ut7u8w0v2uI) multiple times. Trump also brought up the comedian during his 2016 presidential campaign. In a debate with his opponent, Hillary Clinton, [he said](https://youtu.be/LxhhOfe3uWc?t=5547): “Rosie O’Donnell—I said very tough things to her, and I think everybody would agree that she deserves it and nobody feels sorry for her.” [O’Donnell responded](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2016/09/27/rosie-odonnell-responds-to-trump-calls-him-an-orange-body-part-on-twitter/) at the time, saying Trump "will never be President" in one post and calling him an “orange an-s” in another. Meanwhile, O’Donnell’s choice to post an image of Trump and Epstein comes at an interesting time. On Saturday, [Trump defended Attorney General Pam Bondi](https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/114842356238631061), who has come under fire for not releasing the Epstein files in full. There have long been calls to see a so-called "client list" supposedly belonging to Epstein. (Bondi's previous release of some files [were heavily redacted](https://time.com/7262542/pam-bondi-jeffrey-epstein-files/) and informed the public of little they had not learned before.) “What’s going on with my ‘boys’ and, in some cases, ‘gals?’ They’re all going after Attorney General Pam Bondi, who is doing a FANTASTIC JOB! We’re on one team, MAGA, and I don’t like what’s happening. We have a PERFECT Administration, THE TALK OF THE WORLD, and ‘selfish people’ are trying to hurt it, all over a guy who never dies, Jeffrey Epstein. For years, it’s Epstein, over and over again,” Trump said, encouraging people to move on from the topic. “One year ago our country was dead, now it’s the hottest country anywhere in the world. Let’s keep it that way, and not waste time and energy on Jeffrey Epstein, somebody that nobody cares about.” Trump's input comes amid backlash over the publication of a [memo from the Justice Department and FBI](https://www.justice.gov/opa/media/1407001/dl?inline), who conducted a review of the Epstein investigation. Per [the memo](https://time.com/7300378/epstein-client-list-suicide-blackmail-conspiracy-theories-doj-fbi-memo/), their findings concluded there is no evidence Epstein kept a “client list” or was murdered. It also said "no credible evidence found that Epstein blackmailed prominent individuals as part of his actions." **Read More**: [_Where Things Stand With the Epstein Files Following Musk’s Allegation Against Trump_](https://time.com/7291744/epstein-files-elon-musk-donald-trump-allegation/) Trump’s commentary about Epstein has been of high interest, especially since [Musk, in a now-deleted social media post,](https://time.com/7291898/elon-musk-donald-trump-epstein-files-allegation-deleted-post/) alleged that Trump is listed in the files related to the late financier and alleged sex trafficker. “That is the real reason they have not been made public,”[ Musk said](https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1930703865801810022) in early June. He did not provide evidence pertaining to this. Trump's connection to Epstein [dates back decades](https://time.com/7291744/epstein-files-elon-musk-donald-trump-allegation/). In an interview with[ _New York_ magazine](http://nymag.com/nymetro/news/people/n%5F7912/) in 2002, he said that Epstein was “a lot of fun to be with.” “It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side,” Trump told the reporter. In July 2019, NBC News’ TODAY released [video footage](https://www.today.com/video/new-tape-shows-trump-and-epstein-at-mar-a-lago-party-in-1992-64003141847) believed to be from 1992, which showed Trump hosting Epstein at his Mar-a-Lago estate. After [Epstein’s 2019 arrest](https://time.com/5628710/jeffrey-epstein-bail/) on federal sex trafficking charges, Trump made an effort to distance himself. Speaking in the Oval Office in 2019,[ Trump said](https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/09/us/politics/trump-epstein.html): “I had a falling out with him \[Epstein\]. I haven’t spoken to him in 15 years. 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