TDS (Trump Derangement Syndrome)
noun (colloquial, derogatory)

- irrationally negative reactions to the actions and policies of U.S. president Donald Trump.

- a mental condition in which a person has been driven effectively insane due to their dislike of Donald Trump, to the point that they abandon all logic and reason.

- a rhetorical label for reactions to Trump that blur the line between legitimate policy disagreement and what supporters frame as “signs of psychic pathology” or “Trump‑induced hysteria.”

Wiktionary, The Urban Dictionary  

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PHRASE ORIGIN

The model for “Trump Derangement Syndrome” is “Bush Derangement Syndrome,” coined in 2003 by conservative columnist and psychiatrist Charles Krauthammer.

Krauthammer defined Bush Derangement Syndrome as “the acute onset of paranoia in otherwise normal people in reaction to the policies, the presidency—nay—the very existence of George W. Bush.”

Conservative writer Esther Goldberg appears to have been among the first to adapt this pattern to Trump, using “Trump Derangement Syndrome” in 2015 in ‘The American Spectator’ about “Ruling Class Republicans” hostile to Trump’s rise.

The term then widened: Trump supporters applied it to Democrats, the media, and other critics; some critics later flipped it back onto fervent Trump fans, arguing that their unwavering devotion was the real “derangement.”

Linguistically, “X derangement syndrome” has now become a common political phrase, copied for other figures and causes.

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THE TDS INSULT

Nobody thinks that they have Trump Derangement Syndrome.

Ask around in the United States and you will hear the term used as a weapon, not as a diagnosis. Trump’s fiercest critics say TDS is a myth pushed by his supporters to wave away any uncomfortable fact, from court rulings to recorded statements. Supporters reply that the term fits people who still wake up furious about Trump years after moving house, changing jobs, or even leaving the country, yet cannot quote a single policy detail. Both sides are talking about someone else.

Real life is messier than the insult suggests. Therapists in New York and Washington report clients across the political spectrum who bring Trump into the consulting room not to discuss tax rates, but to process dread, rage, or a sense of helplessness every time his name appears in the news. A Wall Street Journal psychotherapist described patients who “can’t stop thinking about Donald Trump even when they try,” interpreting every move as a threat to democracy or to their personal safety.

Meanwhile, Trump allies have learned that one short label—“TDS”—can short-circuit an awkward conversation. Instead of answering a question about a policy or a tweet, they can say the critic is “deranged” and move on. The debate shifts from “Is this true?” to “What’s wrong with you?”

So a useful question is not “Who has TDS?” but “When does a reaction stop being about facts and start being about the attitude of the person speaking?”

Helga & Paul Smith

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SYNONYMS & RELATED EXPRESSIONS

anti-Trump hysteria, anti-Trump rage, blind devotion to Trump, blind hatred of Trump, can't think straight about Trump, consumed by Trump, cult of personality, going off the deep end over Trump, having Trump on the brain, irrational hatred of Trump, irrational loyalty to Trump, letting Trump live rent-free in one's head, losing all sense of proportion over Trump, losing one's head over politics, MAGA derangement, MAGA fever, obsessed with Trump, personality-cult politics, political hysteria, political tunnel vision, seeing everything through one lens, seeing red at the mention of Trump, taking leave of one's senses, Trump as a Rorschach test, Trump cult mentality, Trump derangement, Trump Derangement Syndrome (TDS), Trump fatigue, Trump fever, Trump fixation, Trump-induced hysteria, Trump mania, Trump obsession, Trump phobia, Trump-proofing one's thinking, Trump worship, Trumpophobia, unable to let Trump go, unhinged by Trump

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SMUGGLE OWAD into a conversation today, say something like:

“Some therapists describe TDS as an example of ‘modern collective insanity’. ”

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