Congress Drops Bill to Cure TDS
By Joe Guzzardi
Within my immediate family, the Trump Derangement Syndrome team outnumbers the MAGAs by an 8–1 ratio. Some on the TDS squad resemble retiring U.S. Rep. Nancy Pelosi in their passionate anti-Trump rhetoric. After calling President Trump “a vile creature” and “the worst thing on the face of the Earth,” Pelosi told CNN host Anderson Cooper that she could have said “much worse.”
I can understand not liking Trump. He’s long-winded and pats himself on the back too often. On the other hand, Trump takes all the questions, even from the most hostile reporters who can barely hide their contempt for the president. Think fake news king and queen, Jim Acosta and Joy Reid. Trump’s predecessor, Joe Biden, held the fewest press conferences of any president in modern history. No denying that Trump is, to use politicians’ favorite word, more “transparent” than Biden. For the TDS gang, the elusive Biden never existed; they choose not to mention him — -ever!
Given my family’s mixed history with its Trump opinions, I was struck by the possible TDS solution that Congress introduced: H.R. 3432, the TDS Research Act of 2025 by Rep. Warren Davidson (R-OH). The bill’s purpose is “to direct the Director of the National Institutes of Health to conduct or support research to advance the understanding of Trump Derangement Syndrome, and for other purposes.” The act defines TDS as “a behavioral or psychological phenomenon characterized by intense emotional or cognitive reactions to Donald J. Trump, his actions, or his public presence, as observed in individuals or groups.” Under the National Institutes of Health’s auspices, ongoing research will be conducted to advance the understanding of TDS, including its origins, manifestations, and long-term effects.
In his Wall Street Journal article, psychotherapist Jonathan Alpert wrote that about 75 percent his patients are afflicted with TDS. “Patients across the political spectrum have brought Donald Trump into therapy not to discuss policy but to process obsession, rage and dread. Their distress is symptomatic, not ideological.” Among the most common symptoms that Alpert encounters are persistent intrusive thoughts, emotional dysregulation, impaired functioning, sleepless nights, compulsive news checking and physical agitation. In summary, Alpert called TDS an “obsessive political preoccupation” that strains marriages and has fractured friendships, outcomes that, based on my own family’s experiences, I can attest to.
The public reaction to Alpert’s diagnosis proved his point. After the WSJ published Alpert’s op-ed, he expanded his theme on a Fox News appearance and on his social media accounts. Alpert received a barrage of vulgar messages and death threats. Portions of his essay were taken out of context; he was accused of protecting a fascist. Voice mails wished him dead. The frightening messages were not sent by the fringe but rather by individuals who described themselves as compassionate and dedicated to mitigating mental health issues.
If TDS were limited to the area in and around Capitol Hill, the condition might be more understandable. Trump arrived in 2016 as an outsider and immediately disrupted the establishment apple cart. He’s not a Clinton, a Bush, a Biden or an Obama acolyte. No matter how hard the Swamp tried to rid itself of Trump, he refused to go away. In 2024, Trump delivered the cruelest blow to the D.C. institution: He won the presidential election in a landslide.
The most effective way for TDSers to gain credibility and reach a larger audience is to find something — anything — about Trump’s administration that’s praiseworthy, hail it, then dispassionately and without expletives express reservations about the president. The border is Trump’s biggest and most inarguable success. With his Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, Trump immediately ended the illegal immigration invasion that admitted countless millions of unvetted foreign nationals including criminals and terrorists. America could not withstand four more years of the Biden/Harris open border agenda that overcrowded schools and hospitals, strained social services, drove housing prices ever higher and contributed to soaring inner-city crime.
Give Trump credit where he’s earned it. By acknowledging the good Trump has done, the TDS victims give their never-Trump agenda more credibility.
Joe Guzzardi is an Institute for Sound Public Policy analyst. Contact him at jguzzardi@ifspp.org
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