'Mentally Ill': Trump Has Untreated 'Severe Mental Illness,' Rosie O'Donnell Claims

Rosie O'Donnell has escalated her long-running feud with Donald Trump by claiming the former US president has an untreated 'severe mental illness', saying his behaviour reflects a psychological condition rather than simply a combative political style.

Her latest remarks came in a recent podcast interview and quickly circulated online, drawing fresh attention to a 20‑year rivalry she says has left her with PTSD.

The comments have spread across social media, prompting strong reactions from both supporters and critics while adding another chapter to one of American politics' most prominent celebrity feuds. O'Donnell offered no medical evidence to support her assessment of Trump's mental health.

O'Donnell's Diagnosis Claim Takes Aim at Trump's Mental State

Speaking on the 'Bleep! with Ana Navarro' podcast, O'Donnell was drawn into a discussion about Trump's tendency to publicly target his critics.

Host Ana Navarro described the pattern, saying, 'It's like the gates of hell open up and every little demon walks through it to attack you when this guy says, "I'm going after Rosie O'Donnell,"' citing other figures who have faced similar treatment, including Rob Reiner, Taylor Swift and Meryl Streep.

O'Donnell did not hold back in her response. 'He is a man with no moral fiber,' she said. 'He's a man who is a narcissistic mentally ill. I really believe he has a severe mental illness, untreated. And he's in a narcissistic collapse if you ask me, which happens to narcissists.'

She went further, claiming she believes Trump has what she described as 'frontal temporal lobe dementia', while suggesting those around him were ignoring the signs. She referenced Secretary of State Marco Rubio's denial that he had not seen Trump fall asleep during a meeting.

'He's right there,' O'Donell added, referring to a cabinet meeting when Trump doze off with Rubio beside him. She described the wider phenomenon as 'willful blindness.'

'People have willful blindness when it comes to him,' she explained.

'I Have PTSD From All Abuse That He Gave Me for 20 Years'

Rosie O'Donnell said her two‑decade feud with Trump had left a lasting psychological impact. She spoke about this when Navarro asked why she left the United States. O'Donnell relocated to Ireland in January 2025.

'Well, I was very concerned about my mental health, because while he was in last time, it was not a good time for me, right?' O'Donnell shared.

'I was drinking too much. I was eating too much. I was very, very depressed. I painted hundreds of portraits of him to sort of exorcise it from my body. But I have PTSD from all the abuse that he gave me for 20 years.'

O'Donnell has previously described Trump as her 'archnemesis' when reflecting on their 20‑year feud.

'It's like a post‑traumatic stress disorder for me, considering it's been 20 years of him using me as a punchline,' she said. 'And so I think that has allowed me to reclaim myself, who I was before all that went down, even though it's very strange to have supposedly the most powerful man in the world be your archnemesis.'

Inside the 20-Year Trump Feud Behind O'Donnell's PTSD Claim

Trump and O'Donnell's feud dates back to 2006, when O'Donnell, then a co‑host on 'The View', criticised Trump's handling of a scandal involving Miss USA winner Tara Conner, questioning his 'moral compass.'

Trump responded by branding her a 'woman out of control', and the exchange continued in public statements and interviews.

In the years since, Trump has called O'Donnell a 'fat pig', an 'animal' and a 'threat to humanity', and last year said he was 'seriously considering' revoking her US citizenship. O'Donnell, for her part, has labelled him a 'criminal', a 'con man' and a 'bloviating idiot.'

The strain contributed to her decision to relocate to Ireland, shortly after Trump began his second term. In her recent interview, O'Donnell said she had been 'positive' Americans would not return Trump to office following the 6 January 2021 Capitol attack. It turned out that she was wrong.

O'Donnell has since said that the distance has helped her 'reclaim' the sense of self she had before the feud occupied so much of her public life.