GOP senators move to label Trump critics with 'derangement syndrome'

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: News Websites
17 Mar 2025 16:50

The bill, introduced by five Republican lawmakers, seeks to specifically include "Trump derangement syndrome" in the state's mental illness classification.

Listen

US President Donald Trump addresses a joint session of Congress on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, March 4, 2025 (AP)

A group of Minnesota Republican lawmakers are planning to introduce legislation that would add "Trump derangement syndrome" under the state's official definition of mental illness.

According to Fox 9, five GOP lawmakers will present the bill in the state's Senate on Monday and refer it to the Health and Human Services committee. The bill seeks to specifically include "Trump derangement syndrome" in the state's mental illness classification.

The condition is described in the bill as "acute onset of paranoia in otherwise normal persons that is in reaction to the policies and presidencies of President Donald J. Trump."

The proposal also expanded on the symptoms to include "Trump-induced general hysteria, which produces an inability to distinguish between legitimate policy differences and signs of psychic pathology in President Donald J. Trump's behavior."

President Donald Trump and his supporters have used the term "Trump derangement syndrome" to criticize political opponents whom they believe are unfairly fixated on the president and his policies.

Although the term "derangement syndrome" has recently gained popularity as a way to mock Trump critics, it was originally coined in 2003 by the late political commentator Charles Krauthammer to describe opponents of then-President George W. Bush.

The Minnesota proposal uses the same language that Krauthammer employed to define "Bush derangement syndrome," describing it as "the acute onset of paranoia in otherwise normal individuals in response to the policies, presidency—nay—the very existence of George W. Bush."

Trump brands media outlets critical of him as 'illegal', 'corrupt'

This is not unusual for Trump. On Friday, he branded news outlets that cover him critically as "illegal" and "corrupt" during a speech.

Speaking at the Department of Justice, Trump said CNN, MSNBC, and other unspecified media outlets "literally write 97.6 percent bad about me," adding, "It has to stop. It has to be illegal."

Trump described those media outlets as "political arms of the Democrat party. And in my opinion they're really corrupt and they're illegal. What they do is illegal," emphasizing that the news outlets are "influencing judges and it's really changing law, and it just cannot be legal. I don't believe it's legal. And they do it in total coordination with each other."

The US president has repeatedly attacked the media since his first election to the presidency in 2016, calling journalists and media outlets he disapproves of as "fake news" and "enemies of the people," while his current presidency is marked by targeting mainstream media outlets with restrictions.