Not her intention! Rosie O’Donnell shared a poem on her website on Saturday, November 26, after getting slammed for sharing a video suggesting that Donald Trump’s youngest son, Barron, might be autistic.
The 54-year-old comedian tackled the topic head-on, revealing that her 3-and-a-half-year-old daughter, Dakota, was diagnosed with high-functioning autism this past September, leading her to immerse herself in literature to try to learn more about the condition.
“as we try to grab onto / anything to keep us standing / the knowledge we r not alone / there r others living this too,” she wrote. “when i saw the anti bullying video / that mentioned barron / it spoke to the symptoms many ASD kids have / it was educational and informational.”
O’Donnell then stressed that she had responded to the speculation, because she thought that if it were true that Barron suffered from the condition, it “would help so much with the autism epidemic.”
“1 in 55 kids is an epidemic / donald and i agree on that / and not much else,” she wrote. “i feel he is a clear and present danger / but this autism subject — / had nothing to do with donald / though i admit / he does trigger me in all ways.”
The former View cohost added that she has “no ill will for his children” and that if anything, her anger remains directed toward President-elect Trump, whom she called a “madman who thinks OUR country is his.”
On Monday, November 21, O’Donnell shared a 7-minute video that compiled clips from the presidential debates, the Republican National Convention and Trump’s acceptance speech, showing Barron exhibiting behaviors that the video noted might be signs of autism.
“Barron Trump Autistic?” she tweeted Monday along with the video. “If so — what an amazing opportunity to bring attention to the AUTISM epidemic.”
The comedian was immediately hit with a barrage of nasty messages claiming that she was picking on Barron.
This isn’t the first time that O’Donnell has used poetry in reference to a member of the Trump clan. In early October, she had a chance run-in with Trump’s daughter Ivanka, and wrote a poem about their encounter, noting that the entrepreneur was “absurdly kind.”
