Rosie O’Donnell arrives at the 79th Tony Awards on Sunday, June 7, 2026, at Radio City Music Hall in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP) Rosie O’Donnell arrives at the 79th … more >

Rosie O’Donnell predicts Trump won’t survive term, cites ‘dementia’

by · The Washington Times

Actress Rosie O’Donnell said Friday she does not expect President Trump to survive the remainder of his term, telling CNN anchor Jake Tapper that the president’s “demise is visible and apparent to everyone who is not willfully blind.”

Ms. O’Donnell made the remark during an appearance on CNN’s “The Lead with Jake Tapper,” where Mr. Tapper asked whether she planned to return to the U.S. from Ireland once Mr. Trump leaves office in January 2029. Ms. O’Donnell said she doubted he would remain in office that long, pointing to what she called the president’s visible cognitive decline.

She cited Mr. Trump’s recent gaffe referring to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as “Putin” during this week’s NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, as evidence.

“He makes the kind of mistakes that you would forgive at Thanksgiving dinner, but you would never let grandpa cut the turkey — because it might be dangerous because he doesn’t know what he’s saying,” she said.

Mr. Tapper noted Mr. Trump also appeared to refer to Iran as the “Islamic Republic of Japan” in recent remarks, which O’Donnell cited as further evidence of what she called his “dementia.”

Ms. O’Donnell also declared during the same appearance that “fascism has already arrived” under the Trump administration, criticizing the left-wing Democratic Party for failing to treat the moment as an emergency.

The comments extend a yearslong feud between Ms. O’Donnell and Mr. Trump. The comedian moved to Ireland with her teenage child in January 2025 after Mr. Trump’s reelection, citing concerns over the political climate. Mr. Trump has since attacked Ms. O’Donnell in multiple Truth Social posts and threatened to revoke her citizenship, calling her a “Threat to Humanity.”

Ms. O’Donnell’s remarks echo similar claims made by other prominent Democrats. Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker attributed Mr. Trump’s rhetoric to “dementia” in comments to CNN earlier this month, prompting the White House to dismiss the claim as a “desperate” bid for relevance and to defend the president’s health as “exceptional.”

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