Minnesota GOPers Want To Make 'Trump Derangement Syndrome' An 'Official' Mental Illness

That's not how the DSM works.

Mar 17, 2025

For many years now, US Republicans have argued that they are just as qualified as climate scientists to determine whether or not human beings are responsible for climate change, that they are just as qualified as any geochronologist to determine the age of the earth, that they are just as qualified as a doctor to know how to treat COVID, etc.

Now, at least in Minnesota, they’ve decided that they are now just as qualified as psychiatrists to “discover” a new form of mental illness. Who says you need years of education and experience to do that kind of thing? Certainly not the Republicans in the Minnesota state senate.

As they apparently have nothing of any actual import to do or consider at the moment, these fine folks (who, thankfully, are in the minority) introduced a bill last week seeking to make “Trump Derangement Syndrome” an “official mental illness,” and adding it to the state’s existing list. Because, sure, that’s exactly how that kind of thing works — a bunch of politicians with no actual background in mental health get together and vote to invent a new mental illness that will give them the authority to declare those who disagree with or criticize their messiah mentally ill.

Via the Minnesota Legislature:

Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 245I.02, is amended by adding a subdivision to
read: Subd. 40a. Trump Derangement Syndrome.
"Trump Derangement Syndrome" means the acute onset of paranoia in otherwise normal persons that is in reaction to the policies and presidencies of President Donald J. Trump. Symptoms may 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. This may be expressed by:
(1) verbal expressions of intense hostility toward President Donald J. Trump; and
(2) overt acts of aggression and violence against anyone supporting President Donald J. Trump or anything that symbolizes President Donald J. Trump.

What Republicans mean when they say “Trump Derangement Syndrome” is that they think people do not actually disagree with Trump (or themselves) on policy but merely pretend to because they hate him for no good reason. I’d call it delusional (or perhaps even “deranged”), but I am not a psychiatrist or a Republican, so it is not my place to say.

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It’s not immediately clear what any of this would actually look like, whether it would allow them to put psych holds on their political enemies or simply empower right-wing internet trolling by giving them the ability to point to Minnesota and say “See! It’s a real thing!” We guess it could also very well backfire on them, potentially allowing Minnesota residents to plead “Not Guilty By Reason of Mental Disease or Defect” to any Trump-related crimes like vandalizing Teslas and what have you.

There’s no chance of it passing, of course. Again, Republicans are in the minority in the Minnesota senate, the house is evenly split, and neither has it in its power to define a psychiatric illness. Perhaps they ought to consider talking to some psychologists before attempting this, both to help them understand how this is not how things work, and maybe to find out what medication they ought to be on.

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