Rosie O’Donnell is reportedly weighing a return to the United States from Ireland after Democrats swept the midterm elections and delivered punishing defeats to Republicans. The possible move marks a striking shift after her repeated insistence that she would stay abroad while President Donald Trump remained in control.

O’Donnell reportedly revealed her interest in returning during a Thursday Zoom conversation with the Washington Post. The discussion took place the day after the midterm elections, when the results had given Democrats majorities in both houses of Congress.

The comedian had gone to bed in Dublin before the elections were called Tuesday night. She reportedly woke around 3 a.m. as her phone began alerting her to the results, and she started crying after seeing what had happened.

With Democrats controlling both houses of Congress, O’Donnell said she was thinking about moving back to New York. Her comments represented a change from the firm position she had repeatedly taken about remaining in her self imposed exile.

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O’Donnell was also drinking a celebratory Smithwick’s while discussing the election results and her possible return. Although she praised her life in Ireland, she made clear that being separated from members of her family had become painful.

Dublin is “beautiful — we love it here, but my family’s not here,” O’Donnell said. She then focused on the relatives she has been missing while living across the Atlantic.

“And I miss my grown kids. I miss my grandson that was born six months ago. And I feel like I’ve missed half his life already and don’t want to miss any more,” she said.

Her grandson’s age appeared to sharpen the personal stakes of remaining in Ireland. O’Donnell said she already felt that she had missed half of his life and did not want the separation to continue.

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O’Donnell previously said that she moved across the Atlantic for her 12 year old daughter, who has autism. Her explanation connected the family’s move to concerns involving Trump and the effect that political conflict was having on her child.

During a 2025 appearance on the Jim Acosta Show, O’Donnell described her daughter expressing anger about Trump. The comedian recounted a moment in which her daughter struck a table while talking about the family’s relocation.

“My daughter is now saying, ‘Damn him, damn Trump’ and smashing her hand on the table,” O’Donnell told Jim Acosta. She said she responded by asking her daughter what she was thinking.

“And I said, ‘Wow, honey, what are you thinking?’ And she said, ‘He made us move in order for our own safety, and now he’s destroying the country!’” O’Donnell said.

O’Donnell also reflected on what her daughter hears while living with her in Ireland. She suggested that she did not want to pass along the burden of feeling compelled to remain publicly defiant toward Trump.

“Listen, she lives here [Ireland], she hears what I’m saying to you, not that I go around speaking like this every day if it’s not an interview, but I think to myself, ‘You don’t want to give this to her,’” she continued.

She then questioned whether she needed to continue assuming that role. “Whatever this thing is, of me thinking that I have to somehow stand in defiance of him. No, no, I don’t, somebody can tap me out, you know?”

O’Donnell framed her political resistance as something she had already carried for a long time. “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,” she added.

Rosie O’Donnell takes a victory lap: “It’s a beautiful morning in the world. The Trump Regime is over. Thank you America. We gave a very loud and clear message to Trump and his sycophants, his criminal friends: we’ve had enough. I’m so proud of our country. Let the investigations begin people. This is a glorious day. You don’t get to define us, you madman. I love you America”

— Marco Foster (@MarcoFoster_) November 4, 2026

The midterm results have now prompted O’Donnell to reconsider the position she had repeatedly announced. Her comments combined celebration over the Democratic victories with a deeply personal desire to reunite with her grown children and infant grandson.

No final decision about a move was reported, but New York is once again under consideration. For O’Donnell, the Democratic takeover of both houses of Congress appears to have opened a door that she had previously insisted would remain closed while Trump held power.