Comedian Rosie O’Donnell says she has zero regrets about leaving the United States because of President Donald Trump and moving to Ireland — because apparently America was just too much to handle.
O’Donnell made the declaration Friday while appearing on Chris Cuomo’s program on SiriusXM, where she insisted, “I did what I needed to do to save myself, my child and my sanity.” According to O’Donnell, she “self-deported” to Ireland in January last year after deciding it would be best for herself and her 12-year-old child.
She also admitted she recently returned to the U.S. for a quiet visit, saying she went to see family and wanted to test how hard it would be to travel in and out of the country. The former The View host said she spent two weeks in New York and claimed it felt like “a very different country” compared to before she left.
O’Donnell contrasted life in Ireland with life in America, saying the biggest difference is the lack of “celebrity worship.” She claimed the culture there has “more balance” in both news and daily life and isn’t driven by people trying to get “more, more, more.” She added that after living abroad, she now experiences the United States in a completely different way.
Despite returning briefly, O’Donnell made it clear she has no plans to come back for good. “I don’t regret leaving at all,” she said. “I’m very happy that I’m not in the midst of it there because the energy that I felt while in the United States was… scary. There’s a feeling that something is really wrong and no one is doing anything about it.”
For years, O’Donnell has made no secret of her hostility toward Trump, regularly posting anti-Trump commentary on TikTok, in interviews, and across social media platforms.
Still, her story ends on an unintended bright note: while some celebrities flee the country in protest, millions of Americans continue living their lives, raising families, and building communities without panic or drama. And that’s exactly what makes the country strong — whether famous critics stay or go.
