When you flee a country because of your own political hysteria and then blame the sitting president for your decision, you might want to think twice before telling your 12-year-old autistic child that same lie.
Rosie O’Donnell apparently didn’t get that memo.
During a recent appearance on The Jim Acosta Show, the has-been actress dropped a revelation. O’Donnell admitted that her autistic child, who identifies as non-binary, has absorbed her Trump-hating theatrics to the point where the kid is now pounding the table and declaring, “Damn him, damn Trump.”
According to O’Donnell, when she asked, “Wow, honey, what are you thinking?” her child responded, “He made us move in order for our own safety, and now he’s destroying the country!”
How is this not child abuse?
Let’s be crystal clear about something. President Trump didn’t force Rosie O’Donnell to do anything. She chose to pack up and move to Ireland just days before Trump’s second inauguration. This wasn’t due to persecution, it was to make a political statement. That was her decision, born from her own inability to cope with an election outcome she despised. She worked herself into such a frenzy over his victory that she decided Ireland was the answer, dragging her family along while playing the victim card.
What makes this whole mess even worse is that O’Donnell seems to recognize, at least on some level, that she’s done damage. She told Acosta, “You don’t want to give this to her. Whatever this thing is, of me thinking that I have to somehow stand in defiance of him.” She went on to say, “No, no, I don’t, somebody can tap me out. I did 22 years, I don’t really need to do any more, and I don’t want my kid to be so affected by it, and, you know, she has autism.” When Acosta pointed out that her child “recognizes what’s going on,” O’Donnell paused before answering, “Yes.”
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Here’s the thing. O’Donnell claims she doesn’t regularly talk about Trump outside interviews, but who really believes that? Even so, her TikTok feed tells a very different story, and I’m sure her kid sees it or hears about it. The account is loaded with videos bashing Trump, many of them emotional and politically charged rants filmed from her home. Her child lives with her in Ireland and clearly picks up on all of this. The kid has learned that Trump is the villain in their life story because that’s the narrative O’Donnell has been feeding. I don’t care if it’s directly or indirectly, intentional or unintentional; that’s what’s happening, and it’s cruel.
This playbook should sound familiar.
Jimmy Kimmel and his wife, Molly McNearney, pulled something remarkably similar with their own children. During an appearance on the We Can Do Hard Things podcast last month, McNearney discussed how they explained Kimmel’s temporary suspension from ABC to their kids. When their son asked if Trump caused the suspension, Kimmel admitted, “I think I said ‘yes.'” McNearney confirmed they both answered “yes” simultaneously. Their 11-year-old daughter burst into tears and offered to sell her toys to help the family. But the truth is that ABC suspended Kimmel over his own reckless comments, not Trump. But rather than own that reality, the couple pointed at Trump and let their kids believe he was the bad guy.
What O’Donnell and the Kimmels are doing isn’t just dishonest. From where I sit, it’s a form of emotional manipulation that borders on abuse. These children are being taught to fear and hate a sitting president based on fabrications. They’re internalizing their parents’ political anxieties and developing distorted views of how the world works. When a 12-year-old believes the president personally forced her family into exile, something has gone terribly wrong in that household.
I’m sure O’Donnell and the Kimmels aren’t the only ones doing this. Still, their public confessions make them perfect examples of what happens when grown adults let politics crowd out their fundamental parental duty. Kids should be raised, not drafted into their parents’ ideological crusades. They deserve better than becoming props in a culture war their parents can’t let go of.
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