Comedian Rosie O’Donnell has quietly returned to the United States after more than a year living in Ireland, making a secret two-week visit to reunite with her children and assess whether it was “safe” to bring her youngest child back for the summer.
The 63-year-old actress and former talk show host disclosed the visit during a Friday appearance on Chris Cuomo’s SiriusXM show “Cuomo Mornings,” revealing she had kept the trip under wraps while testing the waters in a country she says now feels dramatically different from the one she left.
O’Donnell told Cuomo the United States felt “like a very different country, a very different place” to her after spending a year disconnected from American news and culture in Ireland.
The comedian moved to Ireland in January 2025 with her 12-year-old child Clay, who is nonbinary and autistic, just five days before President Donald Trump’s inauguration for his second term. The relocation came amid a decades-long feud between O’Donnell and Trump that dates back roughly two decades to her criticism of him during her tenure on “The View.”
The tension escalated dramatically last July when President Trump posted on Truth Social calling O’Donnell a “Threat to Humanity” and stating he was giving “serious consideration to taking away her Citizenship.” White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson responded to news of O’Donnell’s move by telling reporters, “What great news for America!”
O’Donnell’s recent visit was motivated by multiple factors beyond simply reuniting with family. The “A League of Their Own” star explained she wanted to gauge the difficulty of traveling in and out of the country and ensure it would be safe for Clay to return during the upcoming summer school break.
The mother of five has deeply personal reasons to maintain strong ties to the United States. Her son Blake and his wife Teresa are expecting their first child in March 2026, which will make her a grandmother for the fifth time—her daughter Chelsea has already welcomed four children. O’Donnell also wanted to see her other adult children, Parker, Chelsea, and Vivienne, whom she had not seen in over a year.
During her time abroad, O’Donnell has deliberately disconnected from American news and culture, describing Ireland as a place where “celebrity worship does not exist” and news coverage of world events is more balanced. This distance, she suggested, allowed her to experience the United States with fresh eyes upon her return.
The visit left her unsettled. O’Donnell described the energy she encountered as “scary,” adding there’s “a feeling that something is really wrong, and no one is doing anything about it.”
Despite her criticism of the current political climate, O’Donnell firmly pushed back against Trump’s citizenship threat from last summer. Under the 14th Amendment to the Constitution, a president cannot revoke the citizenship of a person born in the United States—and O’Donnell was born in Commack, New York. She explained that only she can renounce her American citizenship and declared she would never do so. Instead, she is pursuing dual citizenship with Ireland while maintaining her status as an American citizen.
O’Donnell revealed she was applying for Irish citizenship during an October 2025 interview with the U.K.’s Daily Telegraph, explaining she qualified through her Irish grandparents. At that time, she indicated her intention to maintain connections to both countries while enjoying the benefits of life abroad.
O’Donnell told Cuomo she has no regrets about her decision to relocate overseas, describing it as necessary for her well-being and that of Clay. She praised Irish culture for its peaceful atmosphere and generous spirit, saying it has been beneficial for her child.
The longstanding animosity between O’Donnell and Trump has played out publicly for years, with both parties exchanging barbs through media appearances and social media posts. Trump renewed his threats in September 2025, writing on Truth Social that O’Donnell “is not a Great American and is, in my opinion, incapable of being so!” His threat to revoke her citizenship represents one of the more dramatic escalations in their ongoing conflict—though legal scholars have consistently noted such action would be unconstitutional.
O’Donnell remains firm in her position that she is “a very proud citizen of the United States” who will continue to exercise her freedom to travel between Ireland and America to visit her children. Her recent two-week trip suggests she intends to maintain a presence in both countries despite the political tensions that prompted her initial departure.
The comedian plans to spend the summer with her family in the U.S. during Clay’s school break from Ireland—a reunion that will include meeting her newest grandchild, expected in March.