Oliver Hartwich on the real TDS
Oliver Hartwich writes:
Critiques of Trump often receive a predictable response, regardless of the source. Critics are promptly diagnosed with so-called Trump Derangement Syndrome, a supposedly clinical condition that renders them incapable of rational thought when it comes to the 45th and 47th president.
This diagnosis has become so standardised that Trump’s defenders simply use the initialism TDS as if referencing an established medical condition rather than engaging with substantive arguments. It functions as a convenient dismissal mechanism, allowing complex geopolitical concerns to be waved away as mere emotional reaction.
However, the diagnosis is more aptly applied to Trump’s defenders than his detractors. It is they who exhibit the defining symptoms of derangement: abandonment of previously held principles, immunity to factual evidence and a willingness to excuse behaviour they would condemn in any other context.
The moral compass of these devotees has been so thoroughly corrupted that it no longer points to true north but swivels toward whatever position Trump adopts, no matter how contradictory or problematic.
It must be exhausting to maintain this level of devotion. They champion tariffs when he proposes them, then pivot to supporting their cancellation when he changes his mind. They criticise endless wars until Trump threatens to start new ones. The only consistent principle is unwavering loyalty to Trump himself.
This is so spot on. It is hilarious seeing so many people whose entire online presence is devoted to slavishly backing Trump, regardless of what he does or say.