Political epidemic seems to have no cure | Jerry Davich

This is the term I use to describe people who are obsessed with partisan politics and who routinely hijack any conversation into a diatribe about a topic that consumes their life: politics.

It’s similar to Trump derangement syndrome, or TDS, often used by our president’s supporters to describe criticism against him that’s perceived as irrational, unwarranted and even hostile.

But PDS transforms otherwise normal people into raving lunatics who are obsessed with presidential politics. They can’t help themselves. All it takes is a trigger word or a white-hot issue. Or sometimes nothing at all. In seconds, they’re raging against something, and instinctively blaming a current or former president.

Mention the name Trump or Biden or Obama or Clinton, or even Hillary, and they don’t shut up. You’ve activated the launch sequence for their predictable rant. I’ll bet you know someone in your family or workplace or social circle who fits this description. I’ll also bet you’re dreading to see them at Thanksgiving dinner.

Nothing stops them. Not when others pivot the conversation to another topic. Not ignoring them as politely as possible. And not debating them, which they want more than a second slice of pumpkin pie. They feast on new faces. They bore their poor spouse. They annoy the rest of us.

Purposeful debates are based on critical thinking, speaking without yelling and the ability to listen -- not loose-cannon verbal attacks aimed at anyone who doesn’t agree with you. Nonetheless, this is what masquerades as a “conversation” with people afflicted with PDS.

In public spaces. At personal places. On social media sites. It doesn’t matter. Deranged is an appropriate word.

The “derangement syndrome” concept regarding U.S. presidents originated more than 20 years ago, long before Trump entered the presidential forum. It’s credited to the late conservative columnist Charles Krauthammer, a psychiatrist who coined the term "Bush derangement syndrome" to describe an "acute onset of paranoia in otherwise normal people" in reaction to President George W. Bush.

The pejorative term was later adapted to "Obama derangement syndrome" and, of course, "Trump derangement syndrome,” used by his voters to mock his critics. Social media is littered with memes, comments and allegations of TDS in action. But what I see in all facets of society is PDS in action.

For those people who are afflicted, it doesn’t take much to set them off and send them reeling into their default obsession. For example, any issue that triggers them: gun rights or control, illegal immigration, same-sex marriage, woke agendas or anything to do with Trump, who’s either a hero or a villain in their eyes.

Even if a conversation is about rainbows or lollipops or puppies, these fanatical know-it-alls respond with knee-jerk urgency to redirect any topic to their default fixation. And off they go, kidnapping an otherwise pleasant chat with one that now only serves their obvious agenda. 

My social media sites are a telling sociological experiment to reflect such predictable views. I’m fascinated by what words or topics repeatedly trigger some kind of Pavlovian response for some people’s default fixation. Either they regurgitate their same political rhetoric or they belch out a stream of “proof” to validate their views.

Though PDS is just as prevalent as TDS, earlier this year U.S. Rep. Warren Davidson, R-Ohio, introduced the Trump Derangement Syndrome Research Act of 2025. It would direct the National Institutes of Health to study its “psychological and social roots.”

“TDS has divided families, the country and led to nationwide violence, including two assassination attempts on President Trump,” Davidson wrote. “The TDS Research Act would require the NIH to study this toxic state of mind, so we can understand the root cause and identify solutions.”

The bill’s cosponsor, U.S. Rep. Barry Moore, R-Ala., wrote, “Trump Derangement Syndrome has become an epidemic on the left.”

Unfortunately, political derangement syndrome has become an epidemic on both sides of the aisle, illustrating how politics is more compelling than facts. “Fake news” is now determined to be anything you don’t agree with.

Social media has a name for people infected with PDS: Trolls. They habitually attack others, spread misinformation and share off-topic comments without listening to others or creating a dialogue. Similar trolls live among us in person. Maybe they’re bored. Maybe they’re bitter. Maybe they have a point.

Either way, they’ve crossed the line into obsessive behavior and likely don’t realize it. This is the allure of national politics and the effects of online algorithms. When someone’s personality is a hammer, all they see are nails. And they're convinced nothing else is more important. It’s textbook PDS.