ENTERTAINMENTRosie O'Donnell Mockingly Praises Donald Trump for Making Her 'Re-Famous' Like 'Fascism' and 'Measles,' Says She's 'Back in the Spotlight'
'I’m back in the spotlight all thanks to President Oompa J. Loompa,' Rosie O'Donnell joked.
Aug. 19 2026, Published 2:44 p.m. ET
During her guest-hosting stint on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, comedian Rosie O'Donnell mockingly thanked President Donald Trump for landing her back in the mainstream media spotlight.
During her Tuesday, August 18, opening monologue, O'Donnell joked that her sudden return to the media landscape made her feel "re-famous.”
Refusing to address Trump by his actual name, she instead utilized colorful nicknames like "President Oompa J. Loompa" and "Velvito Corleone.”
“This has been kind of a strange experience for me because all of a sudden I’m re-famous,” O’Donnell quipped. “I’m back in the spotlight all thanks to President Oompa J. Loompa, who is watching us this evening from inside a catering cart.”
'I Couldn't Have Done It Without You, Sweetie'
'You brought me back — just like you did with fascism and the measles,' the comedian quipped.
In a heavily sarcastic jab as she delivered her "thanks," she drew direct parallels between her own career resurgence and public health or political crises.
“You know, I couldn't have done it without you, sweetie. You brought me back—just like you did with fascism and the measles,” she said.
O’Donnell also weighed in on Trump’s claim earlier Tuesday that the Strait of Hormuz was now a U.S. territory.
“Velvito Corleone was up bright and early at 7 a.m. this morning to post an image of a map listing the Strait of Hormuz as a U.S. territory,” she began.
“Which makes literally no sense. I’ll put it this way. If the U.S. is in charge of the Strait, then I’m also straight,” she jabbed, making a joke about her own sexuality.
Inside Rosie O'Donnell and Donald Trump's Feud
Rosie O'Donnell and Donald Trump's feud stems from a 2006 segment on 'The View' about Tara Conner.
“And let’s face it, I’m not,” O’Donnell added. “The moronathon continues.”
The comments mark the latest chapter in a decades-long rivalry between O'Donnell and Trump.
The animosity began in December 2006 on ABC's daytime talk show, The View.
Trump, who then co-owned the Miss Universe Organization, held a press conference regarding the reigning Miss USA, Tara Conner, who had faced a media firestorm over underage drinking and drug use.
Rather than stripping Conner of her crown, Trump publicly granted her a "second chance" on the condition that she enter rehabilitation.
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'Only Rosie O'Donnell'
Donald Trump and Rosie'Donnell's 2006 feud reportedly caused tension with Barbara Walters on 'The View.'
O'Donnell used a segment on The View to sharply mock Trump's framing of himself as a benevolent moral arbiter, calling him a "snake-oil salesman" and taking aim at his hair and speaking style.
Trump retaliated immediately in an interview with People, calling O'Donnell a "real loser" and threatening to sue her.
The backstage drama and legal threats reportedly caused severe tension between O'Donnell and executive producer Barbara Walters, contributing to O'Donnell's departure from The View in 2007.
During the first Republican primary debate in 2015, moderator Megyn Kelly confronted Trump about calling women "fat pigs, dogs, slobs, and disgusting animals." Trump famously interrupted Kelly to say, "Only Rosie O'Donnell."
Donald Trump resurfaced Rosie O'Donnells tweet about James Comey while reigniting their feud.
As President, Trump trolled O'Donnell by digging up an old tweet of hers regarding FBI Director James Comey.
O'Donnell publicly labeled the move a sign of his "declining mental health."
Following Trump's victory in the 2024 election, O'Donnell relocated to Ireland. From the White House, Trump reignited the feud on Truth Social, threatening to revoke her U.S. birthright citizenship.
O'Donnell clapped back on Instagram, stating she lived "rent-free" in his brain.
