Controversial US comedian Kathy Griffin has warned New Zealand against wishing for a political leader with charisma, saying that's how the US ended up with a "Cheeto fool" as President.

Griffin, who was catapulted into the public eye after posing for a photo with the fake severed head of Donald Trump in May, is performing next month in Auckland - her first show since the incident.

She initially apologised for the offence caused by the image, but has now rescinded her apology - and told The AM Show on Monday morning that she was ready to let loose on America's Commander-in-Chief.

But she said she would also wade into New Zealand politics during her stand-up routine here.

"I'm gonna have to, of course, talk about Bill English because I hear that the Kiwis are afraid he doesn't have enough charisma," she said.

"I'm just here to say, we have an accidental President who has what some people would say is charisma, and it's not good. I would not put too high of a price tag on the charisma part.

"You want someone who is sane, and who won't try and get you into wars on a whim, and maybe, in a natural disaster, help a little bit."

Griffin said President Trump has a tendency not to provide much support when disasters hit.

"Our accidental President - you heard me: it's an accident, he's not supposed to be the President, that Cheeto fool - retweeted one of his buddies saying, 'Hey, there's a bunch of shelters'," he said.

"Basically, whenever we have a natural disaster, our accidental President just kind of goes, 'Good luck, everybody'.

"It's not like it used to be here."

However she also credits him with making her "more famous than I've ever been" thanks to his response to the picture - though she wasn't so fond of the two-month federal investigation brought against her.

Griffin admitted the period following the photo's release was a difficult one, and says President Trump's reaction was "complete BS" and hypocritical.

"I'm supposed to apologise for a picture, and this guy might be a Nazi," Griffin said, to an audible gasp from AM Show co-host Amanda Gillies.

"We think there might be an actual Nazi in the White House, as the President. I don't know if you saw that scary protest in Charlottesville, but I'm here to tell New Zealand: that's not all of us.

"That's a tiny group of pod people, or aliens, that follow this fool so much that they think it's okay to come back as Nazis."

Kathy Griffin brings her Laugh Your Head Off tour to Auckland's Bruce Mason Centre on October 19.

Newshub.