“I knew the best thing for me to do would be to leave until it all got worked out,” the former talk show host said
Credit: Raymond Hall/GC Images; SAUL LOEB / AFP via Getty
NEED TO KNOW
- Rosie O’Donnell doubled down on her decision to leave the United States for Ireland in a new interview
- The former talk show host said the U.S.’ support for Donald Trump “has diminished significantly since I left”
- O’Donnell confirmed last year that she moved abroad with her 13-year-old child, Clay
Rosie O’Donnell still has no regrets about leaving the United States for Ireland.
Last year, the comedian, 64, confirmed she moved abroad with her 13-year-old child, Clay. Speaking with Page Six for an interview published on Sunday, July 12, O’Donnell doubled down on how she “wasn’t nervous” to make the big life change, especially given her disdain for President Donald Trump.
“I had read Project 2025 and I knew what they were planning, and I knew if they were successful, that we were in very big trouble,” O’Donnell told the outlet, referring to a 900-page manifesto that laid out a far-right Christian nationalist vision for America that would corrode the separation of church and state, replace nonpartisan government employees with Trump loyalists and bolster the president’s authority over independent agencies.
“I knew the best thing for me to do would be to leave until it all got worked out,” she continued.
“I believe now people have woken up in the United States, and they understand, as you can tell by how empty his state fair was, and how his support has diminished significantly since I left,” added O’Donnell, nodding to the Great American State Fair, recently held to celebrate the 250th year of America.
Credit: Rosie O’Donnell/Instagram
Despite inclement weather, cancellations and music artists dropping out contributing to the Great American State Fair’s turnout, Trump, 80, celebrated the event in a Truth Social post on June 29.
“Do you think people appreciate what a fantastic job we did in building and operating the Great American State Fair at the National Mall, packed with happy people, and everybody loving it?” he wrote. “Ask yourself this simple question, ‘DO YOU THINK THAT OBUMA OR SLEEPY JOE BIDEN COULD HAVE DONE IT?’ THE ANSWER IS NO!”
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O’Donnell revealed last March that she and Clay had moved to Ireland months prior. The A League of Their Own star said at the time that she was “in the process” of getting Irish citizenship.
“It’s been pretty wonderful, I have to say. The people are so loving and so kind, so welcoming. And I’m very grateful,” O’Donnell said on TikTok at the time. “I was never someone who thought I would move to another country, that’s what I decided would be the best for myself and my 12-year-old child. And here we are.”
Credit: Taylor Hill/Getty
Since the move, the former talk show host quietly visited the U.S. for a few weeks to see her family, she revealed on SiriusXM’s Cuomo Mornings in February.
“I wanted to hold my children again,” the mother of five told Chris Cuomo, adding that she didn’t tell many people about her trip back to the U.S.
“I hadn’t been home in over a year. I also wanted to make sure that it was safe for me before I brought my daughter this summer, where we plan to spend the summertime off from her schooling here with my family,” continued O’Donnell.
Despite her plans to spend the summer in the U.S., O’Donnell told Andy Cohen on SiriusXM’s Andy Cohen Live last month that she has sold all of her real estate in the country.
“I sold everything,” she said. “I had a big four-bedroom penthouse, and it was, you know, I thought all my kids would love to come in all the time. They never came in.”
“I was there with three empty bedrooms, you know, and my little one still sleeps in the bed with me, so I had three empty bedrooms in this four-bedroom place, and I thought, you know, we don’t know how long Trump’s going to stay in,” O’Donnell added. “When he’s done, I will come back.”
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