Rosie O’Donnell has shrugged off a threat from Donald Trump to revoke her US citizenship on the grounds that she is “a threat to humanity”.
The New York-born actor and comedian said on Sunday that she was the latest in a long list of artists, activists and celebrities to be threatened by the US president.
“So, I didn’t take it personally, but I will tell you the way that he is has emboldened people like him,” O’Donnell told RTÉ Radio’s Sunday with Miriam show.
The Trump administration has sought to curb citizenship rights and questioned the citizenship of some critics, including Elon Musk, who was born in South Africa; and people like O’Donnell, who were born in the US.
On Saturday, Trump posted on Truth Social: “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. She is a Threat to Humanity, and should remain in the wonderful Country of Ireland, if they want her.”
The threat – which lacks an obvious legal pathway and raised further questions about Trump’s use of executive power – escalated a two-decade public feud between the pair.
O’Donnell moved to Ireland earlier this year after Trump won a second White House term but they have continued to trade barbs.
“You are everything that is wrong with america,” O’Donnell posted on Instagram, hours after his threat. “You want to revoke my citizenship? go ahead and try, king joffrey with a tangerine spray tan i’m not yours to silence i never was.” Joffrey is a villainous king in Game of Thrones.
The actor also posted a 1980s-era photograph of Trump with Jeffrey Epstein, amid renewed attention on the president’s relationship with the disgraced financier.