Rosie O'Donnell brutally roasts Trump in 'Kimmel' hosting debut

Brendan Morrow, USA TODAYTue, August 18, 2026 at 12:21 PM UTC

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Rosie O'Donnell has returned to television to savagely roast one of her biggest foes.

The comedian, a longtime critic of President Donald Trump, stepped in as the latest guest host of "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" on Monday, Aug. 17, filling in for Kimmel while he's on his summer break.

"They said you can't come home again, but here I am!" said O'Donnell, who lives in Ireland and who hosted her own talk show, "The Rosie O'Donnell Show," from 1996 to 2002. "And if you thought the president hated 'Jimmy Kimmel Live!' when it was hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, buckle up, people!"

Trump and O'Donnell have had bad blood going back even before he ran for president in 2016, and she has remained one of his most vocal critics in recent years.

The comedian surprisingly managed to avoid ever saying Trump's name in her late-night monologue, though she certainly referenced him plenty of times.

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"I haven't sat behind a desk on TV in almost 30 years, and a lot has changed since the '90s," she said. "Well, back then, there was a war in the Middle East, climate change was ravaging our planet, we had a president who was embroiled in scandals. But today, everything is so chill."

O'Donnell went on to pin her decision to move to Ireland on Trump's 2025 election win.

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"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, a place where people are driven to drink regardless of who's running their country."

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She noted she told her child not to tell anyone about the move to Ireland, only for the kid to immediately spill the beans by telling classmates, "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. But in all fairness, I believe my mother hates him more."

At that point, O'Donnell directly addressed Trump by waving as she said, "Hi, I know you're watching!" She ended her monologue with one last dig at Trump: After finishing a story about asking a pharmacist out on a date, O'Donnell quipped, "Right now, he's in the White House crying because I haven't mentioned him."

O'Donnell's late-night stint comes after her feud with Trump escalated in 2025 when the president threatened to revoke her citizenship. In a Truth Social post in July 2025, Trump said that O'Donnell is "a Threat to Humanity" and "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." He reissued the threat a few months later, posting in September that she "is not a Great American and is, in my opinion, incapable of being so!"

In her monologue, O'Donnell said that Ireland has been her "refuge" and "salvation," adding that she'll "be home soon." She's set to continue hosting "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" all this week, with guests including Jean Smart, Richard Gadd, Charlie Day, Janelle James, Megan Mullally, Nick Offerman and Shawn Hatosy.

Kimmel will return to his show on Sept. 8.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Rosie O'Donnell brutally roasts Trump in 'Kimmel' hosting debut

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