SAINT PAUL — A group of Republican state senators in Minnesota has introduced a bill to classify “Trump Derangement Syndrome” (TDS) as a recognized mental illness under state law.
The bill, co-authored by Senators Eric Lucero, Steve Drazkowski, Nathan Wesenberg, Justin Eichorn, and Glenn Gruenhagen, describes TDS as “the acute onset of paranoia in otherwise normal persons that is in reaction to the policies and presidencies of President Donald J. Trump.”
The bill faces significant challenges moving forward. The Democratic-Farmer-Labor (DFL) Party holds a majority in the Senate, and the bill is unlikely to receive a hearing or advance to a vote.
The bill outlines symptoms of TDS as including “verbal expressions of intense hostility” toward Trump and “overt acts of aggression and violence” against his supporters. Senator Gruenhagen defended the proposal and stated that “this bill calls attention to the oftentimes outrageous, violent, and unreasonable reactions we’ve seen towards a president who loves America and wants us to be prosperous, strong, safe, and great again.”
Critics, however, have strongly opposed the bill. Senate Majority Leader Erin Murphy called the bill “wasteful, frivolous, and shameful.”
“If it is meant as a joke, it is a waste of staff time and taxpayer resources that trivializes serious mental health issues,” said Murphy. “If the authors are serious, it is an affront to free speech and an expression of a dangerous level of loyalty to an authoritarian president.”
Mental health experts have also weighed in, noting that TDS is not recognized in any edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM).
“This term is a political label, not a legitimate mental health diagnosis,” said psychologist Dr. Emily Carter. “It risks undermining the credibility of mental health care.”
The bill is unlikely to pass in the Democratic-controlled Senate, where it has not been scheduled for a committee hearing.
“This bill is a little bit tongue-in-cheek, but it also highlights how Democrats have been focusing more on Trump than on the real issues facing Minnesotans,” Senator Mark Johnson, the Senate Minority Leader, said.
[…] co-authored a bill, introduced by Republican legislators earlier this week, titled the “Trump Derangement Syndrome” bill. The arrest has drawn significant attention, with Senate Majority Leader Erin Murphy […]