ROSIE O'DONNELL CALLS OUT "PIGGY!" HER THANKSGIVING MESSAGE FOR TRUMP

Summary

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The Jim Acosta Show

Episode: Rosie O'Donnell Calls Out "Piggy!" Her Thanksgiving Message for Trump
Date: November 28, 2025
Guests: Rosie O’Donnell
Host: Jim Acosta

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Overview

This special post-Thanksgiving episode features a candid, passionate conversation between Jim Acosta and Rosie O’Donnell. The centerpiece is a fiery critique of Donald Trump’s behavior and its impact on American norms and decency, woven together with reflections on family, media responsibility, and national tragedies. Rosie, speaking from Ireland, delivers a holiday message that doubles as a rallying call for truth, decency, and public courage in the face of demagoguery and systemic failures.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Thanksgiving Reflections and the Meaning of Family

• Rosie shares her feelings of being far from her American family during the holidays while living in Ireland.
  • “Family matters. And when you're away from your family... it's not the same, you know, it's not the same.” (01:39 | Rosie O’Donnell)
• Jim discusses his own small family gathering, emphasizing traditions as grounding in a chaotic world.
  • “If we can still do those kinds of traditions every now and then, it, it is grounding. Right?” (01:14 | Jim Acosta)

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2. Trump’s Reaction to National Tragedy & Immigration (02:00–05:50)

• The recent killing of National Guard members by an Afghan refugee is discussed, with Trump quickly politicizing events—calling to “cut off all immigration from... ‘all third world countries.’”
• Rosie points out Trump isn’t smart enough to orchestrate a grand plan, emphasizing the cult of personality, celebrity, and media complicity in America.
  • “He's not smart enough to be orchestrating a coup like this... It’s about the cult of personality and celebrity in America and how toxic that is.” (03:16 | Rosie O’Donnell)
• The media’s delayed recognition of Trump’s cognitive decline.
  • “If you can't tell that this man is in the throes of a serious cognitive health crisis... then you're not awake or alive.” (03:56 | Rosie O’Donnell)

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3. The Erosion of Decency in American Public Life (05:50–07:10)

• Rosie argues the nation’s core problem isn’t Trump alone, but the loss of decency, democratic values, and unity.
• She connects the present cultural moment to the hyper-personalization and toxicity of American public figures and the difficulty of governing such a vast, divided nation.
  • “Where is the decency gone in America? Where has the American spirit... What does that mean? And who are we as a nation?” (04:16 | Rosie O’Donnell)

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4. Trump’s Insults Against Reporters & the Role of the Press (07:10–14:00)

Notable Quotes/Clashes:

• Trump attacks CBS’s Nancy Cordes, calling her “stupid.”
  • Trump (audio clip): “Are you stupid? Are you a stupid person?” (08:16 | Donald Trump)
  • Rosie: “If he were your grandpa, no one would let him carve the turkey because it's too dangerous for a man in his condition and he probably can't stand that long.” (08:27 | Rosie O’Donnell)
  • Rosie: “He would be fired for this behavior [anywhere else]. But why does this guy get a free pass?” (06:09 | Rosie O’Donnell)

Media Responsibility:

• Press corps' inaction is discussed, speculating that it's due to pressure from network bosses.
  • “It kills me to see the press not stand up for each other... their bosses are leaning on them to just take it, absorb it and try to ask the best question that you can and get out of there.” (09:55 | Jim Acosta)
• Rosie’s challenge:
  • "Open your goddamn mouths and save your souls. Because you're going to have to live with yourself long after he is gone." (12:18 | Rosie O’Donnell)
• Jim reflects on standing up to Trump:
  • “I would dish it right back at him because I didn't want to spend the rest of my years thinking to myself, gosh, I should have said something.” (12:41 | Jim Acosta)

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5. The Epstein Files, Accountability, & Sexual Abuse (14:00–19:00)

• Discussion shifts to Jeffrey Epstein, survivor advocacy, and the bipartisan push for full release of Epstein-related files.
• Rosie connects Trump’s behaviors and associations with broader patterns of abuse, cover-up, and media enabling.
  • “We know what the wonderful secret is. And we know crazy sick men like Epstein and like him... who glorify the sexualization and the rape of children.” (14:21 | Rosie O'Donnell)
  • “The guilty man is how...he's acting. This is not an innocent man.” (15:03 | Rosie O'Donnell)
• On survivors’ strength:
  • “What do you think happens to the children that you sexually assault? ...They grow up and they find their voice and they speak out for other victims of that.” (15:59 | Rosie O’Donnell)
• Rosie lauds figures like Michael Wolff and the MeToo movement for breaking the silence.
  • “You can put any American citizen in jail if they commit a crime and are proven guilty.” (18:53 | Rosie O’Donnell)

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6. Personal Toll, Parenting, and Lessons from History (19:00–21:00)

• Rosie shares the burden her activism and public confrontations have had on her personal life—including relocation for safety and her daughter’s evolving understanding.
  • “He made us move in order for our own safety, and it's now he's destroying the country.” (19:35 | Rosie's daughter, via Rosie)
• Her daughter’s early grasp of authoritarianism and moral lessons drawn from Holocaust history.
  • “He was a man brought there to be hateful and dark. She said, like the devil.” (20:52 | Rosie O’Donnell)

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7. Resisting Fatalism and Reclaiming Decency (21:00–24:00)

• Rosie contends Trump’s supporters are not a majority and celebrates mass protest as a sign of hope.
  • “People have had enough. You don't get to just pick people off the streets without a warrant and send them to be tortured in El Salvador, not in America.” (21:45 | Rosie O'Donnell)
• She repeatedly returns to the idea of “decency” as the remedy to national malaise:
  • “Let's get back to decency in the country. Let's get back.” (21:59 | Rosie O’Donnell)

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8. Personal Updates, Comic Relief, and Future Plans (24:00–28:00)

• Rosie shares stories from her recent tour in Australia, challenges of parenting, travel, and her upcoming visit to the U.S.
• Touches on past targeting and harassment of comedians like Kathy Griffin and Stephen Colbert.
  • “That woman's a fighter... Isn't that the truth for everyone? Myself included, Top of the list.” (26:41 | Rosie O’Donnell)
• Jim and Rosie share mutual appreciation and familial Irish ties, closing with holiday wishes and hope for better leadership.

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9. Jim’s Closing Reflections on Gun Violence (29:04–31:41)

• Jim pivots to discuss the pressing issue of mass shootings in America, quoting Fred Guttenberg:
  • “Everyone is looking for someone to blame for the D.C. National Guard shooting. Instead of that wasted energy, we should be asking the question nobody is asking. How did the shooter get his guns?” (29:55 | Fred Guttenberg, via Jim Acosta)
• Jim laments American inaction and gun proliferation:
  • “We are the only country on the planet where this keeps happening… We just have too many guns in this country.” (30:18 | Jim Acosta)
  • “We have to be more decent, and that includes the people at the very top.” (31:27 | Jim Acosta)
  • Calls on the press and public to speak out and hold leaders accountable for indecency.

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Notable Quotes

• Rosie O’Donnell: “He can't unite because he's A very mentally ill man. And it can't be about him anymore. Because if you don't see that for what it fully is, we can't debate that anymore.” (05:25)
• Rosie O’Donnell: “How can you sit there and listen to this pig attack a reporter for doing her job and call her pig? ...The President of the United States is allowed to speak to a reporter... Any other job, he would be fired for this behavior.” (06:09)
• Jim Acosta: “That's why I didn't take this shit. When he would come after me, I didn’t take it. I would dish it right back at him because I didn't want to spend the rest of my years thinking to myself, gosh, I should have said something. Why didn't I stand up and say so?” (12:41)
• Rosie O’Donnell: “Open your goddamn mouths and save your souls. Because you're going to have to live with yourself long after he is gone.” (12:18)
• Jim Acosta: “We have mass shootings on a regular, frequent basis… it happens over and over and over again… Why? What can we do?” (30:35)
• Rosie O’Donnell: “Let's get back to decency in the country. Let's get back.” (21:59)

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Important Timestamps

• Family and Thanksgiving Reflections: 00:17–01:56
• Trump, Immigration, Media Complicity: 01:56–05:36
• On Decency and the American Spirit: 05:36–06:11
• Rosie’s Critique of Trump and Media: 06:11–14:00
• Epstein, Accountability, and Survivors: 14:00–18:53
• Rosie’s Parenting and Personal Toll: 19:05–21:02
• Hope, Protest, and Calls for Decency: 21:23–22:44
• Touring Australia, Parenting, Kathy Griffin: 24:06–27:02
• Jim’s Closing Reflection on Gun Violence: 29:47–31:41

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Tone & Takeaways

The conversation is raw, heartfelt, and at times blisteringly critical of Trump, media, and those complicit in abuse and indecency. The episode balances rage at systemic failures with hope in personal activism, protest, and the “American spirit” that resists fatalism. Rosie and Jim’s banter maintains warmth—even as they dwell on dark topics—closing with a strong plea for all Americans to choose decency, truth, and courage, starting at the dinner table, in the newsroom, and everywhere in public life.

Transcript

[Jim Acosta]

Welcome to the Jim Acosta Show. It is a special Black Friday edition the day after Thanksgiving, and we have a special holiday treat, the one and only Rosie o'. Donnell. Rosie, it is great to see you. I know they don't celebrate Thanksgiving in Ireland, but happy Thanksgiving. Happy holidays.

[Rosie O'Donnell]

Thank you so much. And to you and your family. I hope you had a wonderful time. It was, you know, a little lonely as an American in Ireland where no one even mentions that it's Thanksgiving. Whereas, you know, all I'm thinking of is how many families across the country in America are like, you know, sticking that turkey in the oven right in the morning and getting all of the place that's out and cleaning hurriedly before the family shows up. So, you know, of course. Who did you spend it with?

[Jim Acosta]

I was with my mom. My mom doesn't live too far from me. I grew up right in Northern Virginia, right outside D.C. so I was over at my mom's house. She did her big Thanksgiving turkey, all the trimmings. You know, I just ate until I passed out in front of some football, you know.

[Rosie O'Donnell]

And was it, was it a bunch of family members or just you and your mom?

[Jim Acosta]

It was. It was a small group of family members. Oh, good, good. So it was really nice. It was. I mean, you know, as crazy as this world is, if we can still do those kinds of traditions every now and then, it, it is grounding. Right?

[Rosie O'Donnell]

It totally matters. In fact, I said to Clay, you know, you have two weeks off at Christmas. Do you want to go to Spain where it's only a short flight and it's warm and we can stay on a beach? And, you know, and they said to me, mom, Christmas is for families. Let's go to Belfast and be with our cousins. So she would rather go to Belfast than she would go to some beach in Spain, you know, because family matters. And when you're away from your family, as I have been now for a full year, and my daughter came out to visit and some of my friends, but it's not the same, you know, it's not the same.

[Jim Acosta]

Yeah, I know. Well, Rosie, while you're over there, we're still dealing with the craziness of, you know, Donald Trump over here. And I'm sure you're seeing in the news how he's responding to this awful tragedy that we had the day before Thanksgiving where these two National Guard members were shot. And this Afghan refugee who came to this country, he had worked with the CIA, he had worked with the US Military. Ramanala Lock and Wall is his name. And Trump is already responding by saying, you know, he wants to cut off all immigration. He says, from, quote, all third world countries. This is how he responds to this sort of stuff. And it looks like this, These. This was the action of somebody who had lost it. The New York Times is reporting that, you know, there's a.

[Rosie O'Donnell]

Finally. Is finally reporting.

[Jim Acosta]

Yes, they're finally reporting. We were all waiting to, you know, see how this was going to play out. But this. According to the New York Times, a childhood friend who asked to be identified only as Muhammad because he feared Taliban reprisals, said Mr. Lock and Wall had suffered from mental health issues and was disturbed by the casualties his unit had caused because he worked with the CIA and the US Military in the, you know, in the war against the Taliban in Afghanistan. It's just so tragic. But Trump, of course, trying to exploit it, blaming refugees.

[Rosie O'Donnell]

You know, we have to take it away from just him because he's not smart enough to be orchestrating a coup like this. And his personality is overwhelming. And that's what this is about. It's about the cult of personality and celebrity in America and how toxic that is and how horrifically it has hurt our nation. And if you can't tell that this man is in the throes of a serious cognitive health crisis.

[Jim Acosta]

Yeah.

[Rosie O'Donnell]

Then you're not awake or alive. Did you see him try to walk to the helicopter?

[Jim Acosta]

I saw that.

[Rosie O'Donnell]

Melania, or someone looking like Melania. I mean, I don't know that she would have the strength to do what that person did and carry. Like, he was leaning on her because the left foot doesn't function in the same way that it used to. I mean, he. He's in trouble and very ill, and no one is talking about that. So there's him. And then there's the bigger issue of where is the decency gone in America? Where has the American spirit and what that means to be an American and freedom and, you know, what. What does that mean? And who are we as a nation? You know, living in this tiny country here, Jim, it really teaches you just how spread out and diverse we are. I. I question now whether you can govern a country this big. It's so difficult.

[Jim Acosta]

Yeah.

[Rosie O'Donnell]

I don't think anyone ever imagined the land mass that we acquired. And in 1776, I don't think anyone was thinking how we run this massive monolith of a country. Right. Well.

[Jim Acosta]

And it's tough to do, though, when he wants to divide us at every turn.

[Rosie O'Donnell]

He can't unite because he's A very mentally ill man. And it can't be about him anymore. Because if you don't see that for what it fully is, we can't debate that anymore.

[Jim Acosta]

I know.

[Rosie O'Donnell]

I don't want any more debates on his personality, on whether or not it's right to call women piggy. And whether all of those people on that plane don't wake up every morning, look in the mirror, and feel just a little bit ashamed for not speaking up. How can you sit there and listen to this pig attack a reporter for doing her job and call her pig? This? Jim. A beautiful woman by all metrics.

[Jim Acosta]

And a great reporter.

[Rosie O'Donnell]

And a great reporter, but literally a beautiful woman. And that somehow the President of the United States is allowed to speak to a reporter. Female. Any other job, he would be fired for this behavior. Any other job in the country. If you work at Radio Shack and you treat your employees calling them piggy and stupid and you know, you would be out of there in five seconds. But why does this guy get a free pass? Some distorted personality, some unbelievably preferential news media that dropped the ball. All of the fourth estate completely walked away from their responsibility in this democracy when he came down the escalator the first time. And they. They didn't rectify themselves with the second time.

[Jim Acosta]

No. That's right.

[Rosie O'Donnell]

The New York Times wants a round of applause for saying today that he is in cognitive decline.

[Jim Acosta]

Isn't that something else? I mean, I've been waiting for this. Maybe somebody will write a book about it. Who knows? But, you know, he did this last night talking to reporters about this, the shooting in D.C. we can play that. And look at the way he went.

[Rosie O'Donnell]

I'd love to see it. I haven't seen reports.

[Jim Acosta]

Look, watch this. Yeah. He went after Nancy Cordes of cbs calling her stupid. And I think we've got a little bit of that we can play it aspect.

[CBS Reporter (Nancy Cordes)]

Worked very closely with the CIA in Afghanistan for years that he was vetted and the vetting came up clean.

[Rosie O'Donnell]

He went.

[Donald Trump]

He went cuckoo. I mean, he went nuts. And that happens, too. It happens too often with these people. You see them. But look, this is how they come in. This is how they. They're standing on top of each other. And that's an airplane. There was no vetting or anything. They came in unvetted. And we have a lot of others in this country. We're going to get them out, but they go cuckoo. Something happens to them.

[CBS Reporter (Nancy Cordes)]

Your DOJ IG just reported this year that there was thorough vetting by DHS and by the FBI of these Afghans who were brought into the US So why do you blame the Biden administration?

[Rosie O'Donnell]

Because they let them in Afghan did.

[Donald Trump]

Are you stupid? Are you a stupid person? Because they came into on a plane along with thousands of other people that shouldn't be here and you're just asking questions because you're a stupid person.

[Rosie O'Donnell]

You know, listen, he's a disgrace. He's a disgrace. Yes, he's a disgrace. And if he were your grandpa, no one would let him carve the turkey because it's too dangerous for a man in his condition and he probably can't stand that long.

[Jim Acosta]

You take away the remote control, this.

[Rosie O'Donnell]

Guy at Christmas or Thanksgiving at your house in a non showbiz family would be excused for his atrocious inappropriate behavior because of a thing called dementia. Yeah, many of us have people in the families we've loved, people with dementia. If you don't see that that's what's happening, I don't know what to say to you. Again, a man who's ill and in serious decline, but the systems behind him that enabled him, that performed this two decade long coup against the American government, those are the people that we have to address and start talking about what happened to decency? What happened to someone standing next to that woman saying, did you just call her stupid?

[Jim Acosta]

Right.

[Rosie O'Donnell]

Did you just call her stupid president of the United States? Like, where's that person?

[Jim Acosta]

I know some of these reporters and they're good reporters. And it kills me to see the press not stand up for each other. Can you tell me why, Rosie? My only thought is, my only speculation is, and I think I have some pretty good reason to say this, is that their bosses will not let them do it and their bosses are leaning on them to just take it, absorb it and try to ask the best question that you can and get out of there.

[Rosie O'Donnell]

Well, that is a disservice to everyone, to the soul of every person forced to eat it. You're telling me that we have to swallow this behavior from a madman because we can't figure out as a nation how to right all the wrongs that have occurred. We can't figure that out and we don't know how long he's going to last or we're going to have to deal with him and this is what will continue?

[Jim Acosta]

That's right.

[Rosie O'Donnell]

There's no question about body in motion stays in motion.

[Jim Acosta]

Yes.

[Rosie O'Donnell]

So we better get in motion. We not Democrats versus Republicans. We people who have decency as one of their values. A decent person would stand up in spite of their job and say, I will not sit here and watch you verbally assault and attack and. And. And rape a woman.

[Jim Acosta]

Yes. And I don't. What kind of example are we setting to our kids and our grandkids? And what message are we sending to the world when the President.

[Rosie O'Donnell]

This is. This is maybe a narcissistic view, but it's part of the reason I went on daytime tv, because I used to come home and watch daytime TV with my nana and everything was fine. Merv, Mike, Dinah Shore. I had a great life after school with daytime talk shows. Then I'm home and I'm watching Geraldo Rivera get beaten up by the Ku Klux Klan. People calling people the N word on other shows. Who's your daddy? On. On Maury Povich fist fight. So that. Then there's a show with just the guy who breaks up the fist fights. This is what was happening when I. Oh, my God, they say the Queen of Nice. I wasn't the Queen of Nice. I just wasn't someone. Indecent, Right?

[Jim Acosta]

That's right.

[Rosie O'Donnell]

It's indecent to sell that shit as television. It's indecent.

[Jim Acosta]

And that's the shit he's selling.

[Rosie O'Donnell]

And it's indecent for the mainstream media to call this news when no one else in that room until every reporter is fired from the White House pool, open your goddamn mouths and save your souls. Because you're going to have to live with yourself long after he is gone. And that is a price too high for any human being.

[Jim Acosta]

And that's why I didn't take this shit. When he would come after me, I didn't take it. I would dish it right back at him because I didn't want to spend the rest of my years thinking to myself, gosh, I should have said something. Why didn't I stand up and say so? And I'm not trying to put myself on a pedestal or anything. It was just maybe I had an Irish mother, you know, who's a little feisty, and I. You know, and I just didn't. I couldn't. I just couldn't deal with it. And maybe that, you know, leads to, you know, current events and so on in terms of what I'm doing. But, you know, I. I just couldn't live with myself. And I think those reporters.

[Rosie O'Donnell]

And I think that. That at some point, yeah, you're culpable if you're not.

[Jim Acosta]

Yeah.

[Rosie O'Donnell]

If you're going to turn a blind eye to the blatant Disrespectful way to run a country. The most unbelievably embarrassing period of our history is right now.

[Jim Acosta]

I know. I agree with you. And the other thing I wanted to ask you about, Rosie, is this Epstein situation. I know because you, I'm sure you've been watching this from over there, and the way that those survivors went up on Capitol Hill and called for that vote and then the vote came through and you see all those Republicans voting against Donald Trump to release the Epstein files. We're still waiting, by the way. We're still waiting. The law was passed.

[Rosie O'Donnell]

Was there a news brief? Because I haven't heard it's been released.

[Jim Acosta]

They have not been released. No breaking news on that. But it is pretty remarkable that I guess there's the potential that this stuff is going to come out. This, these secrets, this wonderful secret, as he called it with Jeffrey Epstein, that we may.

[Rosie O'Donnell]

We know what the. We know what the wonderful secret is. And we know crazy sick men like Epstein and like him.

[Jim Acosta]

Yeah.

[Rosie O'Donnell]

Who glorify the sexualization and the rape of children.

[Jim Acosta]

Yeah.

[Rosie O'Donnell]

That's what Epstein island was all about. Why would he need a thousand FBI agents spending over a million dollars deleting his name? And the stories about him from the Epstein files, which even redacted, are still going to be enough to bring him down.

[Jim Acosta]

Yeah.

[Rosie O'Donnell]

Because we know he redacted all of the stuff that makes him guilty, Jim.

[Jim Acosta]

Yeah.

[Rosie O'Donnell]

The guilty man is how. Is exactly how he's acting. This is not an innocent man.

[Jim Acosta]

No. We're showing this email right here, and I, I still, I'm. My jaw still drops every time I look at this email. It's the one from Epstein. Well, it's from April of 2011, and this is one where Epstein says to Ghislaine Maxwell that Trump is the do dog that hasn't barked. I'm sure you saw this one.

[Rosie O'Donnell]

Yes, yes.

[Jim Acosta]

And that victim redacted. Spent hours at my house with him. He has never been once mentioned in this. I mean, this is back in 2011. This is not when he was running for president. None of that stuff. And it's. This is coming back to, to bite him. It's coming back. The dog is barking.

[Rosie O'Donnell]

Well, I don't understand why all of these men think that the children they abuse will not grow up to be adults who will speak and tell on them.

[Jim Acosta]

Yeah.

[Rosie O'Donnell]

I don't understand why men don't know that. What do you think happens to the children that you sexually assault? What do you think happens to them? They grow up and they find their voice and they speak out for other victims of that. And they try to prevent anyone from harming a child for the rest of their days. And there are men like this running the world. This is an international, international. Other nations are involved and have, and have facilitated a lot of this. Some of them, yeah. And it's terrifying. It's truly terrifying.

[Jim Acosta]

Truly terrifying. And you know, Larry Summers, who was the treasury secretary, he's already had to come out and say, I, you know, I'm not going to go into public anymore because of what he did. He, you know, I mean, Michael Wolf, the author, is apparently coaching Jeffrey Epstein. We were just showing an email a few moments ago. Michael Wolf was coaching Jeffrey Epstein on how to handle some of this stuff. I mean, it's, it's disgusting.

[Rosie O'Donnell]

Yes. And that Michael Wolf, God love him, man, he is doing God's work. Every day I watch him on TikTok or his thing or wherever. And you know, he's telling the truth in Consumable bites for America to listen to. So you don't like the personalities involved? Go to this guy, Michael Wolf. Look, look up what he's done, what he's written, who he is, what his life's about, and then listen to what he says. You don't have to buy into the personalities because, you know, I'm working with this new therapist and she's trying to get me to understand the danger and the horror of being in a personality war with a personality of this type of.

[Jim Acosta]

Right.

[Rosie O'Donnell]

And how do I remove myself when my desire to warn and protect children overrides every other nervous system in my body? How do you stop? You don't stop that. Yeah, you don't. You're. I was going to say a woman who's speaking. And that's why those women make me cry. I watch them and I want to hug each and every one of them. I want to tell them thank you, just like I do all the women in the MeToo movement. All of those women, Rosanna Arquette opening her mouth and being brave. Rose McGowan, these women who changed the course of sexual assault in Hollywood, period. They got a horrible man put in jail for the rest of his life. A man everyone thought was untouchable. Harvey Weinstein. No, you could never put him in jail. Oh, yes, we can. You can put any American citizen in jail if they commit a crime and are proven guilty.

[Jim Acosta]

That's right.

[Rosie O'Donnell]

Right.

[Jim Acosta]

That's right. And I mean, I, you know, I hope you do continue to speak out. I mean, I, you know, I know that you probably have some mixed feelings about the whole thing, but, you know.

[Rosie O'Donnell]

Well, you know what? I have to tell you. I'll tell you the truth. My daughter is now saying, damn him, Damn Trump, and smashing her hand on the table. And I said, wow, honey, what. What are you thinking? And she said, he made us move in order for our own safety, and it's now he's destroying the country. You know, listen. Wow. She lives here. 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. You know, whatever this thing is.

[Jim Acosta]

Yeah.

[Rosie O'Donnell]

Of me thinking that I have to somehow stand in defiance of him. No, no, I. I don't. Somebody can tap me out, you know. Yeah, I did. I did 22 years. I don't really need to do anymore, and I don't want my kid to be so affected by it. And, you know, she has autism, but.

[Jim Acosta]

She recognizes what's going on.

[Rosie O'Donnell]

Yes. Because she, you know, she's the one who. Who talked to me about the Holocaust when she was 6 years old, that she saw something and. And talked to me all about the Jew shop people. She called it. Mommy, you know, the juice shot people. Do you know what happened to them? There was a bad guy. I'm like, that's right, sweetheart. There was a very bad guy, and he took over a country, and he made people forget who they are, and he hurt a lot of people, and many, many, many people died. And he was a hatred in the world. Hater. A hatred. He was a man brought there to be hateful and dark. She said, like the devil said metaphorically, like the devil.

[Jim Acosta]

Yes, that's right. That's right. And we have to stop that when it resurfaces. I mean, that's.

[Rosie O'Donnell]

And that's what everyone's trying to do, I think. You know, everyone. I mean, we. We always hear, like, a distorted view. Whenever you'd get, like, a letter on my Rosie o' DONNELL show about something I said, and then they would look into it, and it would be like a guy in Philadelphia and five of his friends who each wrote four letters from the same IP address.

[Jim Acosta]

Yeah.

[Rosie O'Donnell]

Okay, so this thing that people who love the President of the United States and what he's doing to this country is in any way a majority is. Is a lie.

[Jim Acosta]

That's right.

[Rosie O'Donnell]

It's a lie. And if you look at all those people in the street, and I'm so proud of My country. I'm so proud to see all those people in the street, all those people in front of the White House. This is what it's going to take. This is what it's going to take, America. This is what it's going to take. Sometimes rallies that are called to attention for months, and other times they arrive spontaneously. And isn't that something? People have had enough. You don't get to just pick people off the streets without a warrant and send them to be tortured in El Salvador, not in America. You don't get to do that. So it's very simple. Let's get back to decency in the country. Let's get back. And. And you have to call yourself out on where you're. You have been indecent, you know, and. You know, does it always. Does it always benefit everyone to go back at him in the same manner he goes at everyone? Not really. I mean, you can do it. You know, the impulse, though, for me is to slap.

[Jim Acosta]

Yeah, right. Me too. Me too.

[Rosie O'Donnell]

That's the impulse. Is. Okay, what. What's happening? Okay. Boom. Yeah, Go ahead, try again.

[Jim Acosta]

I mean, but, you know, he tears down the east wing of the White House, what do you expect us to do? Just take it. Just take it lying down?

[Rosie O'Donnell]

Well, apparently that that's what he thinks, because that's how he treats women.

[Jim Acosta]

Yes.

[Rosie O'Donnell]

And other small humans.

[Jim Acosta]

Yeah.

[Rosie O'Donnell]

And now, how do you not know that? Do you not know that? Look at the Catholic Church scandal. You think pedophilia is not real? It's real. It's real. And who are you protecting? If you support him, who are you protecting? Do you have children? Who are you protecting? Do you think it's okay? Do you think it's okay? Because, boy, and the stuff. These people are gonna have to stand by him. How could you?

[Jim Acosta]

That's right.

[Rosie O'Donnell]

How? I don't understand. So. But I never will. And it's just how I can best regulate myself and raise this child in the light and, you know, and. And get on with acting and the stuff that I love to do and create crafts and, you know, be the nerd that I was on tv. I still am.

[Jim Acosta]

That's why we love you. But you were just in Australia, and it looked like you had a blast.

[Rosie O'Donnell]

Oh, my God, I had the greatest time. I. I went there and I performed at the Sydney Opera House, and it was glorious. And, you know, it was two shows there and then a show in Melbourne, and I was there for, like, three weeks, which was great for me. Very, very hard on Clay. I had Never been gone for more than five days from her. And so this was a big, big jump. And I think it was a little bit too much because they're back in my bed. I'm like, okay, you can't go for three weeks anymore. Yeah, exactly. I think it's the three weeks penance. You know, I have to go, yeah, do a third week. But, you know, it's just, it's hard. It's hard. And there are big things to be afraid of. And she had so much change in such a short time and she never really went through it. And I think that she's going through it now in a, in a way that, you know, surprises me, but she's also going to be 13, so. Wow, there we are.

[Jim Acosta]

Fast.

[Rosie O'Donnell]

It sure does.

[Jim Acosta]

It goes so fast. But I mean, you know, you're just doing a great job as a mom, Rosie and I, when I saw that you were in Australia, I thought it was terrific. I thought it was, it was just amazing that you were getting to do this. And I've been to Australia, I think it was like on a presidential trip and I was there for 72 hours and my body clock was messed up for like two weeks. So at least.

[Rosie O'Donnell]

Yes, that's what happened to me, Jim. I was up at 4 in the morning for like two weeks straight. But it was a glorious place. And it's funny, the contrast is a little bit like the United States where Sydney is like LA and Melbourne is like New York. And you know, one has four seasons, one is always sunny, one is a beach community, one is more of an urban community. It was very, it was fascinating to get to see both.

[Jim Acosta]

That's great. And, and what about coming back here? Can we get you over here sometime? We'd love to get you over here.

[Rosie O'Donnell]

We could do it.

[Jim Acosta]

We can do this live and in person, you know.

[Rosie O'Donnell]

Well, yes, I think I'm going to come in January to visit my children and you know, have an American passport. I'm an American citizen.

[Jim Acosta]

Yes.

[Rosie O'Donnell]

And I will be flying in and I hope it will be uneventful. You remember what he, remember what he did to, to Kathy Griffin's life.

[Jim Acosta]

I know I had her on. I'm glad she's doing well. You know, she's coming.

[Rosie O'Donnell]

Yeah. But you know, boy, that, that was to be on the no Fly List, to be on the. Stopped at every place she went and you know, listen, that woman's a fighter, I gotta tell you. That woman's a fighter and like all of us sometimes gets in her own way. But Isn't that the truth for everyone? Right? Myself included, Top of the list.

[Jim Acosta]

Nobody's perfect. Nobody's perfect. That's okay. Well, it's always great to see, and I have to say I'm thankful to you because over the summer I shared this photo with some folks of us having a beer there in Dublin. One of the highlights of the year for me. It was so much fun. And I hope I get to buy you a beer when you come over here, you know.

[Rosie O'Donnell]

Well, I would love that, Jim. I would love it. I'd love to come and see you live and do it. Wherever you're shooting this. Is it in your place or where are you?

[Jim Acosta]

It's in my place, but we'll. All right, we'll go high tech, high budget next time, you know, and place.

[Rosie O'Donnell]

It'll be better. We'll do it in your place.

[Jim Acosta]

That's fine. All right, fine. We'll do it in my place. Just.

[Rosie O'Donnell]

But yeah, I'm going to be there for a while. And then my son's baby is born in March, and then we're hoping to spend the summer. The summer in New Jersey with them, with the new baby.

[Jim Acosta]

So that's great.

[Rosie O'Donnell]

That's the plan. And let's hope everything goes along fine.

[Jim Acosta]

Very good. And who knows who will be president then. It could be just completely.

[Rosie O'Donnell]

Well, it's so true. And that's the thing. Things change every day. And it's, you know, a lot bigger than any personality, including him. And really think about decency. Let's focus on decency.

[Jim Acosta]

I love that. That's a great message, especially for the holidays. Don't let him tear down your ability to be decent to other people and to yourself and to ourselves. We can rise above that.

[Rosie O'Donnell]

We have to. Because, you know, listen, it's too easy to swing back and be horrified and then let that put you in freeze. When you have fight or flight or freeze, it puts a lot of people in freeze. What do we do? What do we do? You know, and maybe I'm like thinking that's what happened to those people on the plane when he called her quiet piggy, you know, and. And the other day, are you stupid? Like, maybe those people froze for a minute, but he shouldn't be able to make you freeze because you know, he's capable of anything.

[Jim Acosta]

That's right. Don't freeze.

[Rosie O'Donnell]

Don't be surprised when it comes at you.

[Jim Acosta]

Yeah. Something tells me something's going to give here. Maybe I'll go back into the press corps. Who knows? I don't know. You know, we'll see, we'll see.

[Rosie O'Donnell]

Listen, it's there, there has to be a, a rectification of, of the horrible McCarthy esque swing through all of our newscasters and reporters who had the, the faith of the, of the followers of the, of the citizens and they were systematically released.

[Jim Acosta]

That's right. That's right.

[Rosie O'Donnell]

All of them. So that was McCarthy era going down here in the United States of America while we all watched. While we all watched, while we all. And then he came after Jimmy Kimmel, you know.

[Jim Acosta]

That's right.

[Rosie O'Donnell]

He got, he got Colbert. Unless they change their mind. He got Colbert.

[Jim Acosta]

That's right.

[Rosie O'Donnell]

Imagine that this mediocre human got rid of that unbearable, brilliant, intellectual genius comedian.

[Jim Acosta]

Incredible. That's right. That's right. Well, Rosie, that's why we love you and because you're a fighter. And I know, you know, there are days when it's like, do we keep going? But we got to keep going. And I love your message of decency, especially this time of year. Really?

[Rosie O'Donnell]

Yeah. We gotta keep going. And I'm, I'm proud of you, Jim. And when everyone says to me, how do you know him? I go, oh, he's my friend.

[Jim Acosta]

Yeah, that's right. We're friends.

[Rosie O'Donnell]

There you go.

[Jim Acosta]

We're distant relatives. I think in some way because you remind me of my Irish side of my family. I think that's why we get along so well.

[Rosie O'Donnell]

It could be, it could be. I've gotten more Irish since I've been here, I think, but great to see you. And, and if I don't talk to you for the holidays, have a great holiday.

[Jim Acosta]

You too. Happy holidays. Rosie, thanks so much. Really appreciate it. We love you.

[Rosie O'Donnell]

All right, take care.

[Jim Acosta]

You hang in there. Take care. That's the wonderful, the great, the amazing Rosie o', donnell, a holiday treat for all of us. And you know, listen, I, I do want to mention one last thing before we get going for this, what is it, do we call it Black Friday weekend as a continuation of Thanksgiving weekend? It's, we don't have much time until the holidays at the end of December. So here we are, we're, we're smack dab in the middle of it or at the beginning of the middle of it. And so I, you know, I, I, there's a part of me that is a little hesitant to get too, you know, too heavy, but I saw a tweet from my old friend Fred Gutenberg and I just want to show it because I think it's just so important when it comes to this National Guard shooting here in Washington, D.C. and our hearts go out to the family members of those members of the National Guard from West Virginia. It's, it is, our hearts really go out to them, especially this time of year. It is just a terrible, terrible loss that we're all feeling. But look at what Fred wrote. And Fred, of course, is the father of a shooting victim from the Parkland mass shooting that happened at the beginning of the first Trump administration. But Fred wrote this. He posted this on X. Everyone is looking for someone to blame for the D.C. national Guard shooting. Instead of that wasted energy, we should be asking the question nobody is asking. How did the shooter get his guns? How did the shooter get his guns? What can we do as a country to make gun violence less likely? And I've talked about this on this show all the time. And I've had multiple family members of mass shooting victims. And it, you know, it keeps happening. We are the only country on the planet where this keeps happening. Mass shootings over and over and over again. And in many of these cases, and please, somebody pointed out, if I'm wrong here, in almost all of these cases, it involves somebody who is mentally ill, who has easy access to firearms and is able to inflict mass carnage. How is it that we have not been able to solve this problem in the United States of America? If you believe in American exceptionalism, and I know there's a lot of Republicans out there who say they believe in American exceptionalism, how can we be exceptional as a country and still continue to allow mass shooting violence to keep occurring in this country? It just happens over and over and over again. And you know, when, when you saw what happened with Charlie Kirk, that was, that was a campus shooting. You know, strip away the politics, strip away the personalities, strip away the rhetoric. There's a lot of rhetoric flying after this National Guard shooting here in Washington D.C. and I've been saying for a long time now, and this predates what took place earlier this week, I ha, you know, I asked the question time and again, what is the National Guard doing in Washington D.C. what are they doing in Washington D.C. donald Trump had them picking up trash in Lafayette Square. They've been patrolling neighborhoods that are relatively crime free. They may have car break ins and that sort of a thing, but, but not violence like we saw the other day. And in particular over by the White House. I will tell you, and I posted this on Thanksgiving. People don't understand. I worked at the White House for nearly eight years. The, the sheer number of mentally ill people who show up over at the White House. I'm not talking about people who are inside the White House who show up outside the grounds of the White House. It would startle a lot of people. But the Secret Service understands this. They've understood this for years. When I worked at the White House during the second Obama administration, they had multiple fence jumpers to the point where they had to raise the height of the fence around the White House. It used to be six and a half, seven feet. Now it's 13ft. They did that because people kept jumping. The mentally ill people kept jumping the fence. And so if you have members of the National Guard walking around patrolling the areas around the White House with semi assault rifles and looking very visible and looking like targets, I was waiting for something like this to occur. As a D.C. area native, it just struck me as totally foolish to continue to have these National Guard members doing this. They should have been heading home for the holidays. They should not have been spending their holidays patrolling the nation's capital when there's nobody here on Thanksgiving. I mean, you can get in your car and drive around on Thanksgiving, there was nobody around. People leave town and the D.C. police can handle it. Not to sound too local about this, but it's just not necessary. And you can straight. We can strip that discussion from this as well. I do think it's important, but we can strip that part of the discussion from this as well. But Fred Gutenberg's point is right on the money. We are not dealing with what keeps happening in this country. We have mass shootings on a regular, frequent basis. The names change, the places change, the dates change, the circumstances change to some extent. But it happens over and over and over again where mentally ill people are able to get high powered weapons or just any gun and inflict mass casualties. And you have to keep asking, in my view, you have to keep asking the question, why? What can we do as a country? Fred says, what can we do as a country to make gun violence less likely? And it seems to me, of course we have to find ways to strengthen our background check system so mentally ill people can't access firearms. But we know that people can access firearms in other ways. They can go to gun shows, they can find them at relatives houses and so on. But we have, and I'm, you know, this is going to stir people up. We just have too many guns in this country. The country is awash in high powered firearms. And what are innocent people to do? And shopping malls and supermarkets and public settings like a street near the White House. It just keeps happening over and over again. We have to figure that out. And it seems to me there's just a complete and total resistance among people basically in one party to doing anything about it. And now this is, this has impacted people from West Virginia. The people of West Virginia are now in pain and in agony over this. These guard members should have never been in this position in the first place. And we should not have a system in this country that allows so many firearms to swirl around where this can keep happening. And so I hope we spend some time over this holiday weekend and in the weeks to come thinking about this. But my fear is, and I think Fred is hinting at this in his message, that we're just not willing to deal with it. Not yet. Not yet. My thanks to Rosie o' Donnell for coming on. It's always a pleasure having her on such a treat to have her here during the holidays. And she is absolutely right with her message about decency. We have to be more decent, and that includes the people at the very top. We know Donald Trump is not capable of decency. That part of him was plucked out many, many years ago. But for the people who are in close proximity to him, can you just tell him every now and then, knock it off. Knock it off. Donald Trump, stop calling reporters piggy and stupid. And if, and you know, and if his own staff won't do it, I, I, I, I'm making a personal appeal to my friends in the press. Please say something. Please speak up. Just say, Mr. President, that is not appropriate. Nancy is not stupid. She's a great reporter. Or you could ask, you can tell. Hey, you're not dealing with the question. You didn't answer the question. Answer the question. Maybe that might be the correct response, but say something, do something. My personal appeal to my friends in the press corps. All right, thanks, everybody, for watching. Really appreciate it. We'll see you next time. Still reporting from Washington, I'm Jim Acosta. Have a great weekend.