Published on: Sat, 11 Jul 2026 02:16:00 GMT
Original Story: Rosie O’Donnell reacts to Trump AI video of her: ‘He’s obsessed with me’ – The Hill

Trump’s AI Rosie Obsession: Still No Rose Garden?

Alright, folks, settle in, because the absolute state of our public discourse just took another dive into the uncanny valley, and honestly, at this point, we should all just be given a lifetime achievement award for surviving the sheer absurdity of it all. This week’s contender for “Are we serious right now?” comes courtesy of the ever-turbulent relationship between Donald Trump and Rosie O’Donnell.

The news, as reported by The Hill, is that Rosie O’Donnell has reacted, with a mix of exasperation and perhaps a hint of morbid fascination, to an AI-generated video of her. Her take? “He’s obsessed with me.” And honestly, after years of watching this particular, bizarre, one-sided (or is it two-sided?) feud play out in the public square, it’s hard to argue with her. It’s like watching a train wreck in slow motion, except the train is made of pixels and the tracks are laid by algorithms, and we’re all strapped into the observation car. Shocking, I know.

The Digital Uncanny Valley: Where Feuds Go to Die (and Be Reanimated)

Let’s unpack this, shall we? We’re not talking about a poorly edited clip from a decade-old interview. Oh no, that would be far too analog for our current era of manufactured reality. We’re talking about an AI video. As in, Artificial Intelligence. As in, someone, somewhere, decided it was a good use of cutting-edge technology and, presumably, their precious time, to create a deepfake involving a former President and a comedian he’s had a public spat with for, what, two decades now? My God, the sheer audacity. The dedication to petty grievances is truly… something.

The very existence of such a thing isn’t just mildly concerning, it’s a flashing neon sign illuminating the absolute erosion of what we once quaintly referred to as “truth” and “reality.” Because if we can just whip up convincing, albeit still slightly off-kilter, videos of people saying or doing things they never did, where exactly does that leave us? On a perpetual scavenger hunt for actual facts, probably. And let’s be real, most of us are already burnt out just trying to remember where we left our keys, let alone dedicating our mental energy to discerning deepfakes from genuine gaffes.

A Tale as Old as Time (or at Least, the Early 2000s)

For those of you who might have been, I don’t know, living under a sensible, non-internet-connected rock for the past twenty years, the history between Trump and Rosie O’Donnell is a long, winding, and frankly exhausting saga. It kicked off back in 2006, when O’Donnell, then a co-host on The View, critiqued Trump’s business ethics and his decision not to fire Miss USA Tara Conner amidst a scandal. Trump, being Trump, didn’t just fire back; he nuked the site from orbit. He called her “a slob,” “a loser,” “a woman with a fat, ugly face,” and threatened to sue her. Classy, right? Because *of course*.

This wasn’t just a fleeting spat; it became a recurring theme in Trump’s public persona, a go-to punching bag to demonstrate his particular brand of alpha-male aggression. He brought her up in debates, in rallies, in interviews. It was a bizarre, almost Pavlovian response. Someone says something he doesn’t like, he brings up Rosie. It became so ingrained that when he was asked in the first Republican presidential debate in 2015 about his misogynistic comments, his response was, “Only Rosie O’Donnell.” As if that one exception somehow absolved him of all other criticisms. It’s like saying, “I only steal from *that one* particular candy store, so I’m not a thief.” Yeah, no. That’s not how it works, buddy.

The Hypocrisy Machine: Fake News vs. Fake Faces

And this, dear readers, is where the rubber meets the digitally manufactured road. For years, particularly from 2017 through 2018, Donald Trump made “fake news” his rallying cry. He practically invented the phrase as a political weapon, using it to discredit any media outlet, report, or narrative that dared to challenge his version of events. He stood on podiums, wagged his finger, and vehemently accused journalists and his political opponents of fabricating stories, creating hoaxes, and manufacturing consent. He called the media “the enemy of the people,” claiming they were peddling “false narratives” and “alternative facts” to undermine his presidency. His supporters, bless their impressionable hearts, ate it up with a spoon.

He was the self-appointed arbiter of truth, the valiant defender against the insidious forces of fabrication. And now? Now we’re seeing his camp (or at least, those acting in his fervent interest) potentially utilizing AI, the ultimate tool for manufacturing reality, to create deepfake content involving his long-standing nemesis. The irony, the sheer, unadulterated, breathtaking irony, is so thick you could cut it with a butter knife and still not get through it.

He decried the creation of manufactured realities by others, while his orbit is now seemingly engaging in the creation of manufactured realities *themselves*. It’s not just a contradiction; it’s a full-blown, head-on collision between rhetoric and reality, where reality is now just whatever we can render. It’s the digital equivalent of an arsonist yelling “fire!” while simultaneously fanning the flames of their own making. The mental gymnastics required to reconcile these two positions would snap the spine of a contortionist.

What Does This Mean For Our Collective Brain Cells?

The implications here are, frankly, exhausting. If a public figure can have AI-generated content of them circulate, and then have to respond to it as if it were a genuine action or statement from their opponent, where does the line get drawn? Are we entering an era where political campaigns are fought not just with policy debates and attack ads, but with expertly crafted, AI-generated fiction? (Spoiler alert: we probably already are.)

This isn’t just about Trump and Rosie; it’s about the erosion of trust in everything we see and hear. It’s about the difficulty, for the average, overstimulated, under-slept citizen, to distinguish between what’s real and what’s a sophisticated computer-generated illusion. We’re already drowning in information, much of it contradictory, and now we have to add “Is this even real?” to our daily mental burden. My corporate burnout is screaming right now, wondering if it’s too late to just buy a cabin in the woods and live off the grid.

The “factual” part here is that an AI video surfaced, Rosie O’Donnell responded, and Trump has a documented history of weaponizing the term “fake news” against those who, in his view, fabricated realities. Now, we see the tools of fabrication potentially being wielded in his sphere. The facts are there, the snark just points out the glaring, eye-watering hypocrisy.