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The two-decade grudge between President Donald Trump and Rosie O’Donnell was back in the spotlight Monday night, as the comedian lobbed several insults at the White House — including speaking directly to Trump — during her debut “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” opening monologue.The former host of “The Rosie O’Donnell Show” is set to serve as the show’s guest host this week while Kimmel is on summer vacation.O’Donnell began her monologue by poking fun at Trump’s longtime distaste for the show, telling the audience, “The President hated Jimmy Kimmel Live! when it was hosted by Jimmy Kimmel. Buckle up, people.”JIMMY KIMMEL REVEALS HE ASKED MAJOR TRUMP CRITIC TO GUEST HOST WHILE HE’S ON VACATION AS A ‘SPECIAL TREAT’ Rosie O’Donnell attends the 79th annual Tony Awards at Radio City Music Hall in New York City on June 7, 2026. (TheStewartofNY/FilmMagic)The 64-year-old comic then turned her attention to her newfound residency in Ireland, a move she made in January 2025 due to Trump’s 2024 election victory. On Monday night, O’Donnell referred to Trump as “Mango Mussolini.””I read that Project 2025 and said, ‘Got to get myself out of here, you know,’ and I decided to go to Ireland, a place where people are driven to drink regardless of who’s running their country,” O’Donnell said.O’Donnell then recalled how her teenage child delivered the news that they would be moving abroad to their classmates, telling the audience her child said, “‘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.’”Without mentioning Trump by name, O’Donnell then smiled directly into the camera and addressed the president, telling him, “Hi, I know you’re watching.”ROSIE O’DONNELL CREDITS TRUMP FOR MAKING HER ‘RE-FAMOUS’ AS WHITE HOUSE CALLS HER ‘OBSESSED’ Jimmy Kimmel hosts “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” on April 23, featuring guests Ray Romano and Tracy Morgan. (Randy Holmes/Disney)O’Donnell’s monologue drew ire from Curtis Houck, managing editor of NewsBusters for the Media Research Center.”Rosie O’Donnell is painfully unfunny and the personification of letting politics run your life, with whoever is in power determining your happiness,” Houck told Fox News Digital. “Rosie has been on a lengthy U.S. media blitz ahead of this week’s guest-hosting, and she was able to do so freely. She hasn’t been arrested and hauled off to some Trump-branded gulag.””She’s still gainfully employed doing whatever it is she does to make money,” he added. “It’s as if her shtick about Trump being an incapacitated-yet-menacing authoritarian is all an act to secure the eyeballs of the deranged left.”The comedian spent much of the show telling stories of her new life in Ireland, praising the country’s kindhearted attitude and comparing it to her previous home of New York City.”[The people in Ireland] would stop me in the street. They would say to me, ‘Welcome, Rosie. You’re home. We love having you here,’” O’Donnell said. “I was like, ‘It’s been my refuge and my salvation.’”Between introducing guests, O’Donnell also appeared to get choked up while paying tribute to 36-year-old Hayden Panettiere, a former guest on “The Rosie O’Donnell Show” who passed away on Sunday.”I’m just heartbroken over the passing of Hayden Panettiere last night,” O’Donnell tearfully said.WLADIMIR KLITSCHKO MOURNS FORMER FIANCÉE HAYDEN PANETTIERE, VOWS TO KEEP HER MEMORY ALIVE FOR DAUGHTER KAYA Rosie O’Donnell has been one of President Donald Trump’s most prominent critics in the entertainment industry. (Photo by Chelsea Guglielmino/Getty Images)Toward the end of her monologue, O’Donnell looked to deal one final jab at the president after not mentioning him by name throughout the show, cheekily adding, “You know, right now he’s in the White House crying because I haven’t mentioned him.”Trump hit back against O’Donnell’s teasing with a post to Truth Social showing a cartoon image of O’Donnell in various situations thinking about Trump, with the caption, “She (?) is obsessed!”O’Donnell previously told Variety that she was “surprised” to receive the hosting offer from Kimmel, noting the pair’s previous “adversarial” relationship, but was “thankful” to the late-night host for the opportunity.CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE OF MEDIA AND CULTURE”I support [Kimmel] in what he’s doing with the First Amendment, and our ability as entertainers and citizens to speak out against our government that’s enshrined in the Founding Fathers’ writings about our government, so I think he’s fantastic,” O’Donnell told the outlet. “And I wish that Stephen Colbert had the same kind of support when it happened to him, because he shouldn’t be gone either.”CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APPFox News Digital reached out to O’Donnell for comment. Julia Bonavita is a media and culture writer for Fox News Digital, and a Fox Flight Team drone pilot. You can follow her at @juliabonavita13 on all platforms and send story tips to julia.bonavita@fox.com.
