WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump says he is weighing the possibility of stripping her of American citizenship from a long-time rival, the actress and comedian Rosie O’Donnell, despite a Supreme Court ruling decades ago that explicitly bars such action by the government.
Trump wrote on Saturday in a social media post: “Because Rosie O’Donnell does not advance the interests of our great country, I am seriously considering stripping her of her citizenship.” He added that O’Donnell, who moved to Ireland in January, should stay in Ireland “if they want her.”
Both figures have publicly criticized each other for years in a sometimes acrimonious exchange that predates Trump’s entry into politics. In recent days, O’Donnell has taken to social media to denounce Trump and his administration’s measures, including the signing of a sweeping package of tax cuts and spending backed by the Republican Party.
This is Trump’s latest threat to revoke citizenship from people with whom he has publicly disagreed, such as his former adviser and longtime ally, Elon Musk.
But O’Donnell’s case is notably different from Musk’s, who was born in South Africa. O’Donnell was born in the United States and has a constitutional right to American citizenship. The U.S. Department of State notes on its website that U.S. citizens by birth or naturalization may renounce their nationality by taking certain steps, but only if the act is voluntary and with the intent to renounce citizenship.
Amanda Frost, a law professor at the University of Virginia School of Law, noted that the Supreme Court determined, in a 1967 case, that the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution prevents the government from taking citizenship.
“The president does not have the authority to strip a U.S.-born citizen of citizenship,” Frost said in an email on Saturday. “In short, we are a nation founded on the principle that the people choose the government; the government cannot choose the people.”
O’Donnell moved to Ireland after Trump defeated Vice President Kamala Harris to win a second term. She has said she is in the process of obtaining Irish citizenship based on her family lineage.
On Saturday, in response to Trump, O’Donnell wrote on social media that she had upset the president and “add me to the list of people who oppose him at every turn.”
