President Donald Trump’s White House has fired back at Rosie O’Donnell after the “comedian” spent much of her week guest-hosting Jimmy Kimmel Live! taking shots at her longtime political nemesis.
White House spokesperson Davis Ingle delivered the blistering response after O’Donnell once again targeted Trump during Wednesday night’s episode of the ABC late-night show.
“Rosie O’Donnell is a nasty woman and a total slob whose brain has been completely destroyed by Trump Derangement Syndrome,” Ingle told People.
The statement came after O’Donnell spent three consecutive nights working Trump into her monologues, repeatedly insulting the president and eventually dragging White House aide Natalie Harp into the routine.
According to Variety, the response marks the latest chapter in the spectacularly long-running feud between Trump and O’Donnell, which has now stretched across roughly two decades.
Rosie O’Donnell Targets Trump and Natalie Harp
The remark that finally prompted an official White House response came Wednesday night.
O’Donnell opened her monologue by offering a “special hello” to Trump, whom she called “President Petty Roosevelt.”
“That’s all I’m gonna say about you tonight, sweetheart,” O’Donnell said before immediately continuing with another jab.
“You gotta realize it’s time to hang up your wig and let Natalie tuck you in.”
Natalie Harp in an interview – YouTube, C-SPAN
The Natalie in question was Natalie Harp, a special assistant to Trump who has recently been the subject of media attention surrounding her close working relationship with the president.
That was apparently enough for the White House.
But O’Donnell wasn’t exactly blindsided by the response. Her return to ABC television had been built, at least in part, around the expectation that her decades-old battle with Trump would resume.
O’Donnell Had Been Taking Shots at Trump All Week
O’Donnell began her four-night stint behind Jimmy Kimmel’s desk Monday and wasted little time making Trump part of the show.
During her first monologue, she directly addressed the president while explaining her decision to move to Ireland following the 2024 election.
“Hi! I know you’re watching!” O’Donnell told Trump before referring to him as “Mango Mussolini.”
On Tuesday, she was back at it.
Rosie O’Donnell hosting Jimmy Kimmel Live! – ABC
O’Donnell sarcastically thanked Trump for making her “re-famous” and branded him “President Oompa J. Loompa.”
Wednesday brought “President Petty Roosevelt” and the Harp joke.
And after the White House fired back, O’Donnell used her final show Thursday to lean into the confrontation even further.
She introduced herself as “nasty Rosie O’Donnell,” referred to Trump as “orange Voldemort,” and performed an entire song mocking the president and eventually calling for his resignation, according to People.
In other words, this was not exactly a one-sided exchange.
The Media Pearl-Clutching Ignores the Obvious Context
Predictably, some coverage of the White House response has framed Ingle’s comments as yet another outrageous example of the Trump administration viciously insulting a celebrity critic.
And sure, calling somebody a “total slob” is an insult.
But pretending the remark emerged from nowhere requires ignoring virtually everything that happened before it.
President Donald Trump in a 2020 interview – 60 Minutes, YouTube
O’Donnell had spent the better part of a week appearing on a nationally televised ABC program calling the president “Mango Mussolini,” “Oompa J. Loompa,” and “Petty Roosevelt,” mocking his hair, making jokes about his aide tucking him into bed, and eventually calling him “orange Voldemort.”
Then she performed a song mocking him and telling him to resign.
Against that backdrop, the White House calling O’Donnell a “nasty woman” or a “total slob” hardly represents some unprecedented escalation in political discourse.
The two sides were insulting each other.
President Donald Trump speaks at CPAC in 2017 – YouTube, The New York Times
The difference appears to be that one set of insults is frequently presented as late-night comedy while the other becomes a story about the supposed indecency of the Trump White House.
If “total slob” is beyond the pale, then what exactly is “Mango Mussolini”?
If mocking someone’s appearance is objectionable, then surely “Oompa J. Loompa,” jokes about Trump’s hair, and an entire musical number devoted partly to his appearance belong under the same standard.
You don’t have to like Ingle’s response to recognize the obvious double standard.
Trump and O’Donnell’s Feud Is Nearly 20 Years Old
Of course, none of this exists without the bizarre political and entertainment feud that Trump and O’Donnell have been carrying on since 2006.
Their battle began when O’Donnell criticized Trump during her tenure on The View, questioning his business record and mocking him during a discussion about his handling of a Miss USA controversy.
Trump responded publicly, and the two have traded increasingly personal insults ever since.
Rosie O’Donnell giving an interview – YouTube, The Lazy Show
The feud became national political fodder during Trump’s first presidential campaign when moderator Megyn Kelly referenced Trump’s previous comments about women during a 2015 Republican primary debate.
Trump famously responded, “Only Rosie O’Donnell.”
Twenty-one years after their feud began, apparently neither side has lost interest.
O’Donnell even left the United States for Ireland following Trump’s reelection in 2024, but her temporary return to American late-night television this week instantly placed the president back at the center of her material.
And Trump’s White House was more than happy to answer.
The Trump-Rosie Feud Is Apparently Alive and Well
There may not be another celebrity feud in American entertainment that has survived as long — or migrated through as many different eras — as Donald Trump versus Rosie O’Donnell.
It began when Trump was primarily known as a New York businessman and reality television star and O’Donnell was sitting at the table on The View.
Two decades later, Trump is serving his second term as president, O’Donnell lives in Ireland, and they are somehow still firing insults across national television and the White House press office.
The latest round was sparked by O’Donnell using her Jimmy Kimmel Live! hosting gig to repeatedly mock Trump.
Rosie O’Donnell hosting Jimmy Kimmel Live! – ABC
This time, the White House decided to respond in kind.
And judging by O’Donnell’s decision to devote part of her final broadcast to yet another Trump monologue and song after receiving that response, the longest-running celebrity feud in modern American politics doesn’t appear to be ending anytime soon.
How do you feel about the Trump White House response to Rosie O’Donnell on Jimmy Kimmel? Sound off and let us know!
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