Five Minnesota Senate Republicans are seeking to dub “Trump derangement syndrome” (TDS), a term coined to describe a form of criticism of President Donald Trump, as an official mental illness recognized under state statute.
Eric Lucero, R-St. Michael, Steve Drazkowski, R-Mazeppa, Nathan Wesenberg, R-Little Falls, Justin D. Eichorn, R-Grand Rapids, and Glenn H. Gruenhagen, R-Glencoe, are the five politicians who drafted the bill that would add the so-called “syndrome” to a lengthy list of definitions related to mental health care in Minnesota.
If passed, a section of a statute that includes definitions for terms including “diagnostic assessment” and “outpatient services” would be appended to add one for TDS. The authors describe TDS as “the acute onset of paranoia in otherwise normal persons” in reaction to Trump’s policies.
“Trump-induced general hysteria” — which causes people to conflate policy differences with the president with signs of “psychic pathology” in Trump’s behavior, according to the bill — is the politicized phrase’s primary symptom, the bill states.
Its authors go on to write that such hysteria typically manifests as intense verbal hostility toward the president and violence or aggression aimed at Trump supporters.
Political commentators critical of Trump regard TDS as a pejorative buzzword his supporters have embraced to cast the president’s liberal detractors as histrionic and stubbornly critical of Trump’s positions. Its origin traces back to 2003, when a conservative opinion writer described liberals’ reaction to President George W. Bush as “Bush derangement syndrome.”
TDS made the rounds during Trump’s first term, with conservative personalities from Sean Hannity to Jeanine Pirro invoking the so-called syndrome to criticize The Washington Post and Whoopi Goldberg.
News of the Minnesota bill prompted a fiery response from state Democrats.
