Rosie O'Donnell says 'cruel' Trump supporters forced her to flee America
Comedian Rosie O'Donnell has opened up about the "cruel" backlash from Donald Trump supporters that drove her to leave the US in a bid for "self-preservation".
The 63-year-old American talk show host has been embroiled in a bitter dispute with the President of the United States ever since she took a swipe at him almost twenty years ago.
In a 2006 episode of The View, during the Hot Topics segment, Rosie didn't hold back in her criticism of Trump.
Trump, who was not a politician at the time, hit back by branding Rosie "a woman out of control", and their animosity has persisted over the years.
While chatting with Christine Lampard, who was filling in on Tuesday's Lorraine, Rosie disclosed that the ongoing conflict prompted her to up sticks and move to Ireland for the sake of her own well-being and that of her family.
Discussing her relocation to Ireland earlier this year, she said: "I just think this is the best decision I could have made for myself and my child, I love it here, we've been welcomed by everyone," reports the Express.
Following a DNA test that confirmed Rosie's Irish heritage as 100 per cent, she expressed that there was never any doubt about her destination if she ever felt compelled to leave America due to its political atmosphere.
"There was never a question for me where I would go if I had to leave the country because of the political climate, and that's what I felt I had to do, and I'm so glad that this is where we came, and so thrilled at the warm welcome we've received," she elaborated.
Rosie also touched upon her choice to relocate following the spat with Trump, seeking to distance herself from the "intensity" of the situation.
She reminisced about poking fun at his hair back in 2006, doing "did what comedians have been doing for years" and then noted: "He went really crazy, he could not get himself to get over it for over 20 years.
"He uses me as a punching line and disparages me and insults me and calls me names like it's a kid in school and I'm being teased.
"But when I talked about him, he was not the President, he was a reality TV host, he was a bit of a joke in New York.
"Nobody really took him seriously in 2006 at all, and then he becomes the President of the United States.
"And does he stop? No. He puts the pedal to the medal and uses my name in the debate and it was difficult for my children."
Rosie disclosed that Trump's remarks and political actions were the reasons behind her departure.
"I knew I could not stay in my country and be a healthy parent that I need to be for this child, with all of this destruction going on in the country that he had planned and now has implemented.
"So it really was self-preservation. I knew I had to take care of myself mentally and emotionally, and being here has given me that distance, and I don't live in fear of what someone is going to say to me in Walmart.
"Even though most people are very kind, the MAGA people are emboldened by his cruelty to be just as cruel, even to my face.
"I knew for my own safety and health that I had to leave, but he hasn't stopped; he just threatened to take away my citizenship a couple of weeks ago."
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