Why Is There So Much Trump Derangement Syndrome?

Trump Derangement Syndrome (TDS) is not an official diagnostic psychological or psychiatric condition. It is not listed in the DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders), the Bible of the psychiatric profession. Perhaps it should be.

It’s fascinating that after his initial run for the presidency in 2015, there is still so much hostility towards the man. To be honest, I didn’t know much about Trump prior to 2015. All I knew was that he was a New York real estate developer, but I never watched The Apprentice. Someone I know has spoken on programs with Trump in the past. The only insight I gained from that was that Trump was a smart guy in the business world.

The hostility towards Trump has been relentless with two impeachments and mutiple court indictments. He has been accused of being a Nazi, Hitler, a fascist, dictator and every other human pejorative you can think of. The insanity of those who are afflicted with TDS is even more evident since Trump was convicted of some nebulous crime related to paying off a porn star. If you do a search with the name Trump you invariably get a plethora of anti-Trump headlines. To take them at face value, you would think that Trump is the devil himself.

Researcher Robert Epstein, has studied the effect of search engines like Google with The search engine manipulation effect. Epstein, himself a Democrat, believes the manipulation is unfair with its overreaching influence on election voting patterns. It’s true because you can’t find any positive headlines when it come to Trump. It’s actually amazing that he has gotten the votes that he received.

It still begs the question of why such visceral hatred towards Trump. The media is no longer neutral, they fawn over Biden, while celebrateing with glee with Trump’s recent New York conviction. What is even more astounding is that Biden has made racist comments in the past and Kamala Harris took him to task in one of her debates. Biden supported school segregation. He described African-American felons as “predators” too sociopathic to rehabilitate — and white supremacist senators as his friends. Also remember his comment, “If you don’t vote for me, you ain’t black”?

If you’re in a family setting and the name Trump comes up, it’s interesting to see some of the outrage and expletives uttered. It gets downright embarassing. I can remember in the early 80s going to some parties, and if the name Reagan or Thatcher came up, it was a similar reaction, though not with such visceral hatred as what we see with Trump. Adele and I tried to say to people well they did do some good things, but most of the time, it fell on deaf ears. Today anyone who’s anti-Trump cannot see anything good about him, nor that he did any good for his country.

So, what are the reasons for TDS?

It's Political

Some say it's just a political ploy to so defame Trump that no one of sound mind could consider voting for him. Of course, the politicians on the left, the media and the current president himself fuel this narrative that Trump is a danger to all. There is no evidence during his first term that he was a danger. The 'proof is in the pudding'. During Trump's presidency, there were no wars, and peace initiatives occurred across the Middle East. America was generally a safer place.

Envy

Many people are envious of Trump. Of course, they wouldn't admit it. He's had fame, made billions, and was a New York playboy with beautiful women at his side. Funny that before he was president, he was well-liked by most New Yorkers.

There may be an alpha male syndrome at work. I suspect DeNiro thought he was the top dog, being a New Yorker himself. However, Trump usurped him as the definitive successful New Yorker when he became president. I wonder how DeNiro will react If Trump wins re-election in November?

Mass Psychosis

In the case of Trump, mass psychosis or hysteria is a form of groupthink, where a large group of people are consumed––usually because of fear or anxiety––by a person or situation. This was used effectively by Hitler in Germany and successfully with the onset of the Covid-19 crisis.

Suppose enough people start repeating the same message repeatedly, especially on mainstream media or social media. In that case, people will start accepting it as truth. This, of course, is accentuated by the search engine manipulation effect I mentioned earlier.

There is no doubt that mass psychosis is going on. Unfortunately, those on the left, including psychologists and psychiatrists, often project onto Trump's followers the message that they have mass psychosis.

You could say there's a reverse mass psychosis in the case of Biden's followers. This was illustrated when actor Michael Douglas stated Biden was "Sharp as a tack". Also, he said that "Biden would continue to be mentally fit to be president for the next four years". Someone earnestly believing that must be living in la-la land. Or, as I stated, that individual––Douglas––may be suffering some psychosis if he indeed seriously believes what he is saying. Whatever one thinks of Trump, Biden is suffering from a form of dementia which can't be ignored.

We need to separate out TDS from legitimate criticism of Trump. If you cannot criticize someone because you support them and feel they can do no wrong, it's easy to slip into idolatry. Every candidate should be subject to critical assessment. Then, on balance, one decides who is best suited for the task at hand. 

Despite what I consider his comments on the Covid jabs, even beyond his presidency, voting for Biden will plunge America further down the destructive path. So Trump is the only choice.