Rosie O’Donnell began her second night of guest-hosting Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Tuesday by thanking U.S. President Donald Trump for making her famous again.
During her opening monologue, O’Donnell credited the president for helping her return to network television.
“I’m so grateful to be filling in for Jimmy and to be hosting a talk show on network tv once again. This has been kind of a strange experience for me because all of a sudden I’m re-famous. I’m back in the spotlight, all thanks to President Oompa J. Loompa, who is watching us this evening from inside a catering cart,” the former The View host said.
“You know I couldn’t have done it without you, sweetie. You brought me back, just like you did with fascism and the measles,” she added.
O’Donnell also spoke about Trump during her Monday guest-hosting debut and warned viewers that she planned to continue Kimmel’s criticism of the president.
“If you thought the President hated Jimmy Kimmel Live! when it was hosted by Jimmy Kimmel. Buckle up, people. Buckle up,” O’Donnell told the audience.
O’Donnell went on to explain that she moved to Ireland because of Trump, saying, “I’ve been living in Ireland for the past two years because of Mango Mussolini.”
“I read that Project 2025 and said, ‘Gotta get myself out of here!’ And I decided to go to Ireland where people are driven to drink regardless of who’s running their country,” she continued.
She went on to explain how her child told her friends that they would be moving to Ireland.
“They went to school and proceeded to tell their entire class, ‘I’m very sorry. I won’t be able to graduate sixth grade with you. I’m being forced to move to another country because the president of the United States hates my mother,’” O’Donnell shared. “‘But in all fairness, I believe my mother hates him more.’”
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“Hi, I know you’re watching,” O’Donnell said, waving at Trump.
Earlier this summer, Kimmel announced that he would have guests hosts take over for him while he took a break.
“I hope you’re paying attention this summer because I will be taking the next two months off,” Kimmel said. “This time voluntarily. But we have assembled a potent group of hosts to fill in for me, beginning with Tiffany Haddish, Colman Domingo, Ike Barinholtz, Anthony Anderson, Jelly Roll and, as a special treat for our commander-in-chief, I asked one of his all-time favorites, Rosie O’Donnell, to be here to keep the hits coming.”
Last week, O’Donnell spoke about Trump making her “re-famous” while appearing on Amy Poehler’s Good Hang podcast.
“I feel like recently I’m re-famous. That’s what I feel. I told my kids, ‘Well kids, hold on because mommy’s re-famous,’” she said.
“I don’t know how it happened. I think it’s Mango Mussolini,” O’Donnell added, referring to Trump.
She said that she thinks it’s Trump “who did it” and brought her back into the public eye.
“He didn’t know. If he knew how much he was helping my career and my life, he would shut up about me because, you know, he’s a horrible creature,” O’Donnell added.
Poehler and O’Donnell went on to watch clips of Trump appearing to close his eyes during public events.
“I’m stunned by it,” O’Donnell said. “Like I go, is everyone looking at the same speech he just gave? Did we hear what he just said? He is asleep again, ladies and gentlemen! Like what is it going to take?”
“The looking around and the almost, the gaslighting that’s afterwards is so stressful,” Poehler added.
O’Donnell and Trump reignited their feud after the comedian moved to Ireland following Trump winning a second term in the White House in 2024.
In March 2025, O’Donnell revealed her international move in a TikTok video, saying that she now lives in Ireland with her youngest child, Clay.
O’Donnell said she was in the process of getting her Irish citizenship, revealing that she has Irish grandparents.
“I miss my other kids. I miss my friends. I miss many things about life there at home and I’m trying to find a home here in this beautiful country and when it is safe for all citizens to have equal rights there in America, that’s when we will consider coming back,” she said.
The 64-year-old actor encouraged Americans “to protest, to demand that we follow our constitution and our country.”
“And not a king, not a man, and we don’t have cruelty as part of our governing style,” she added.
In July 2025, O’Donnell posted a video on TikTok talking about Wimbledon and quickly changed to the topic of Trump.
“You can’t deny his mental decline. You can’t deny that that’s supposed to be the best and the brightest that America has to offer,” she said. “He is definitely in a decline and if you can’t see that I don’t know what to tell you.”
The following day after O’Donnell shared the TikTok video, Trump said he was giving “serious consideration” to revoking O’Donnell’s U.S. citizenship.
Trump posted about O’Donnell on Truth Social, writing, “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. GOD BLESS AMERICA,” he added in his post.
