President Donald Trump has ignited a new round of controversy after publicly stating he is considering revoking the U.S. citizenship of comedian and talk show host Rosie O’Donnell. The threat, issued on Saturday via the president’s Truth Social platform, follows O’Donnell’s criticism of the administration’s response to the devastating Texas floods that claimed over 120 lives earlier this month.
Trump’s post read, “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 further described O’Donnell as a “Threat to Humanity” and suggested she should remain in Ireland, where she relocated earlier this year with her son.
The president’s remarks come amid mounting scrutiny over the federal government’s handling of the July 4 floods, which swept through central Texas, leaving at least 121 people dead and more than 150 missing. Critics, including O’Donnell, have pointed to recent spending cuts at the National Weather Service and the Federal Emergency Management Agency as factors that may have exacerbated the disaster’s impact. O’Donnell, who was born in New York, accused the administration of failing to adequately warn and protect residents, and she has been vocal about her opposition to Trump’s policies on social media.
O’Donnell responded to Trump’s threat with a series of social media posts, stating, “You are everything that is wrong with America and I’m everything you hate about what’s still right with it. I’m not yours to silence. I never was.” She further asserted that Trump’s animosity toward her stems from her willingness to publicly challenge his character and actions.
Legal experts and constitutional scholars have been quick to clarify that the president does not have the authority to revoke the citizenship of an American-born citizen. The U.S. Supreme Court has long held that citizenship cannot be stripped by the government except in rare cases of voluntary renunciation or fraud in the naturalization process. O’Donnell, who moved to Ireland in January, retains her citizenship by birthright and has stated she would only return to the U.S. “when it is safe for all citizens to have equal rights there in America."
The feud between Trump and O’Donnell is not new. Their public clashes date back nearly two decades, often erupting over social media and in televised interviews. However, this latest episode marks a significant escalation, with Trump invoking a rationale previously used to target foreign-born protesters and critics.
The backdrop to this dispute is the ongoing recovery effort in Texas, where federal, state, and local agencies continue to search for missing persons and assess the extensive damage caused by the floods. President Trump, during a visit to the affected region, praised the response of Texas Governor Greg Abbott and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, insisting that “everyone did an incredible job under the circumstances.” Nonetheless, questions persist regarding the timeliness of warnings and the adequacy of federal support, with some families expressing frustration over the lack of earlier alerts and the administration’s decision to implement new spending approval requirements for emergency deployments.
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