Trump’s battering left me with ‘post traumatic stress disorder’: Rosie O’Donnell

Comedian Rosie O’Donnell revealed recently that her 20-year spat with President Donald Trump had left her with something akin to “post-traumatic stress disorder,” though celebrated her progress in moving on from the feud with the president, whom she described as a “bloviating idiot.”

“It’s like a post-traumatic stress disorder for me, considering it’s been 20 years of him using me as a punchline, 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 arch nemesis,” O’Donnell told People in an interview published Wednesday.

O’Donnell’s feud with Trump kicked off in 2006 after the comedian criticized Trump on “The View.” In the 20 years since, Trump has relentlessly attacked O’Donnell using derogatory language, calling her a “fat pig,” an “animal” and “disgusting.”

After Trump was inaugurated last year for his second term, O’Donnell moved to Ireland where she applied for Irish citizenship, and months later, when Trump threatened to revoke her U.S. citizenship, O’Donnell responded with a taunting dare for him to try.

Only after living in Ireland for more than a year did O’Donnell discover that she had changed for the better, she told People.

“I am softer I think as a result of being there, of the welcome that we got, and as a result of me not being constantly bombarded by news about the current president,” she said.

O’Donnell also reflected on how the impacts of Trump’s attacks on her had softened since moving out of the United States.

“It used to be when our president would say things about me, it would be like, whoa,” she said. “First of all, if you had written this as a movie, a stand-up comic makes fun of a reality show host who is a bloviating idiot and he ends up being the president, and then he doesn’t shut up about her for 20 years, it would be unbelievable – and the fact that it’s my life is very trippy.”