A new strain of Trump Derangement Syndrome is spreading like wildfire | Opinion
I’d like to take a moment of your time today to talk about Trump Derangement Syndrome, TDS for short.
I’ve been diagnosed as having this condition lately, because I’ve had the temerity to question and even criticize the rhetoric and actions of our once and future president.
TDS has no scientific definition as such, but Trumpism has never been about science anyway.
So for a definition, let’s tap into Wikipedia, which is the first thing that turned up in a Google search, so it must be true, right?
“Trump derangement syndrome (TDS) is a pejorative term, usually for criticism or negative reactions to President-elect Donald Trump that are perceived to be irrational and to have little regard towards Trump’s actual policy positions, or actions undertaken by his administration. The term has mainly been used by Trump supporters to discredit any criticism of him, as a way of reframing the discussion by suggesting that his opponents are incapable of accurately perceiving the world.”
The most recent time I’ve been accused of TDS was a column I wrote last week, criticizing Wichita City Hall for passing up a chance to get a $3 million grant from the Environmental Protection Agency to help minority Wichitans understand and identify environmental health threats in their neighborhood, and advocate for their removal or mitigation.
Some online commenters diagnosed me with TDS because in that article, I pointed out this will be the last opportunity to get the Environmental Justice Grant before the top job at the EPA is taken over by former congressman Lee Zeldin.
Zeldin is a climate change denialist tapped by Trump specifically to roll back anti-pollution regulations at the federal level and to challenge states that have passed their own, so it’s not a long leap of logic that environmental justice for economically disadvantaged minorities is not going to be in his playbook.
However, I can take solace in the fact that if I really am afflicted with TDS, I’m in good company.
Steven Cheung, Trump’s combative campaign spokesman and soon-to-be press secretary, leveled an accusation of TDS against Watergate-breaking journalist Bob Woodward, who’s been kind of a hero of mine since I was a teenager.
And locally, the TDS diagnosis has been repeatedly hurled at no less a conservative figure than Bob Weeks, who publishes the “Voice for Liberty” blog in Wichita. Bob is a Republican with a libertarian lean who’s taking fire from the further right for publishing charts and graphs questioning various aspects of what Trump says about the economy.
As we know from our experience with the COVID-19 virus, diseases mutate. And TDS is no exception.
Alas, it is my sad duty to report that there’s a new strain of TDS (let’s call it the Omicron variant like we did with COVID) that’s spreading like wildfire among Trumpers and Trumpettes.
The TDS Omicron variant is marked by automatic, irrational and unquestioning approval of anything Trump says or does, no matter how bizarre, dumb or dangerous it might be.
Here are some warning signs you may have it:
▪ You think you’ll be healthier after Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s through with you. Trump’s nominee to head the nation’s health department is the same guy who’s been peddling “theories” that Wi-Fi causes cancer and “leaky brain,” that chemicals in drinking water cause transgender identities, and who admitted carrying a roadkill bear cub around in his car for hours before dumping it in New York’s Central Park.
▪ You accept things that would make your head explode if a Democrat did them. Like, for example, nominating a former fake-wrestling executive, who’s being sued for allegedly allowing child molestation in the business, to head the Education Department. Google “Linda McMahon” for reference.
▪ You believe raising taxes on imported goods and mass-deporting fruit pickers and meat cutters will bring prices down. No further explanation needed.
The good news is that while the Omicron variant of Trump Derangement Syndrome can be serious, it is easily cured. All it takes is regular ingestion of factual information.
Those of us suffering from the original strain of TDS will have to wait four years for it to get better.
This story was originally published November 20, 2024 at 5:18 AM with the headline "A new strain of Trump Derangement Syndrome is spreading like wildfire | Opinion."
