Five Republican senators in Minnesota are planning to introduce a bill that classifies "Trump Derangement Syndrome" (TDS) as a mental illness. This initiative aims to link excessive hatred towards President Donald Trump and the "acute onset of paranoia" against his policies to mental health-related legislation. This was reported by Newsweek.
The bill is scheduled to be presented for discussion in the Minnesota Senate's Health and Human Services Committee on March 17 by Republican senators.
According to Republicans, the main symptoms of Trump Derangement Syndrome include "general hysteria caused by Trump," verbal expressions of hatred, and aggressive and violent actions towards Trump supporters. They believe that many people interpret Trump's political decisions as symptoms of mental illness due to this syndrome.
However, this initiative is being met with serious concern from health experts and civil society representatives. They fear that the politicization of mental health diagnostics could become a tool to restrict people's freedom of political expression. There are also concerns that this initiative could lead to a decrease in attention to other real mental illnesses.
Previously, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and Communications Director Steven Cheung had accused many Trump critics of having this syndrome, but there was no attempt to accept it as an official diagnosis.
As the discussion of the bill is expected to spark widespread debate not only in Minnesota but across the country, experts are expressing concerns about the negative impact of this initiative on the field of mental health.
