Donald Trump threatens to take away comedian Rosie O'Donnell's citizenship after she criticised US President
Donald Trump says comedian Rosie O’Donnell is “not in the best interests of our Great Country” and threatens to remove her citizenship.
Donald Trump has threatened to take away the citizenship of actor and comedian, Rosie O’Donnell, an outspoken critic of the US President. The move - which has been branded unconstitutional by legal precedent over decades - comes amid a crisis in the administration over the non-release of files relating to paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
The former talk show host has long been a critic of the Republican president, attacking a number of his policies over many years.
Trump, who billionaire donor Elon Musk claimed was "in the Epstein files", hit out at O'Donnell in a post on his Truth Social website overnight. The 79-year-old said: "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."
The outburst came after O’Donnell had gone viral on social media criticising a number of Trump's policies, including the recent 'budget' bill that will cut medical programmes and welfare programmes to enshrine a tax break for the wealthy in law.
O’Donnell is a US citizen as she was born in Commack, New York, in 1962. And Trump's claims he has the power to remove the status has been condemned by many in the legal profession.
Amanda Frost, a law professor at the University of Virginia School of Law, said a 1967 Supreme Court ruling stated the 14th Amendment of the constitution prevented the government from taking away citizenship.
“The president has no authority to take away the citizenship of a native-born US citizen,” Ms Frost said. “In short, we are nation founded on the principle that the people choose the government; the government cannot choose the people.”
Like tens of millions of Americans - including Trump himself - O'Donnell has familial ties to other parts of the world. After the former Apprentice host returned to power last year, she moved to Ireland and has said she is in the process of obtaining Irish citizenship.
On Saturday, O'Donnell said she was aware she had upset the president and to "add me to the list of people who oppose him at every turn".