In his column that appeared in the Pagosa Daily Post on October 15, D.C. Duncan exhibits symptoms of “Trump Derangement Syndrome” (TDS), which was recently described in Psychology Today this way,
Trump derangement syndrome is a derogatory term used to describe a form of toxic criticism and negative reaction to former President Trump’s statements and political actions. The origin of the term can be traced to the late political columnist and commentator Charles Krauthammer, a psychiatrist, who first coined the phrase ‘Bush derangement syndrome’ in 2003.
Mr. Krauthammer, himself a harsh critic of Trump, later defined Trump derangement syndrome as a Trump-induced “general hysteria” that produced an “inability to distinguish between legitimate policy differences and signs of psychic pathology” in the president’s behavior. Journalist Fareed Zakaria, moreover, defined TDS as “hatred of President Trump so intense that it impairs people’s judgment”.
One of the symptoms of TDS described in that article is “expressions of intense hostility toward President Trump”.
Mr. Duncan’s Trump-hating rant includes a prime example of stringing together pejorative adjectives, such as when he describes Donald Trump as “a pathological liar, a convicted felon, a draft dodger, an insurrectionist, an adulterer, a misogynist, a racist… and a litter bug.”
A fellow Florida native and columnist I occasionally communicate with frequently writes such ‘string epithets’ describing Trump, and likes to include that Trump is “smelly”. Sufferers of TDS seem to be competing in who can render the longest, and most juvenile, string of insults.
According to Mr. Duncan, supporters of Donald Trump are not a political party; we are a “cult”.
This MAGA party is not the GOP. It is a cult of personality and the leader is a flawed individual with absolutely no character. He doesn’t support democracy or the rule of law…
When did “MAGA” become a political party?
What Mr. Duncan and TDS sufferers seemingly don’t grasp is that the populist movement they pejoratively label MAGA is a rejection of the current political party structure in the United States. It’s why you see a lifelong icon of the Democratic party, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr, and former Democratic Congresswoman and presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard, not only supporting, but actively working for the election of Donald Trump.
Apparently, simply because I am part of that populist movement, and own a red hat bearing the phrase ‘Make America Great Again”, makes me a cultist.
I suggest the actions of the current administration over the past three years clearly demonstrate contempt for the rule of law. And the ‘palace coup’ that replaced Joe Biden with Kamala Harris as the Democratic Party candidate was, in my opinion, a total repudiation of the concept of democracy. How many democratic primary election votes for President did Harris receive vs Biden?
Mr. Duncan’s idea of a true “party” member — of the Republican Party at least — is former Representative Liz Cheney. He says, “There are old guard Republicans like Liz Cheney …, that actually define ‘principles and integrity.’ It’s called character, a word that does not factor into the new right ideology.”
Mr. Duncan’s holding up Liz Cheney as an example of “integrity” is laughable. She was one of the token Republicans on the supposedly bi-partisan kangaroo-court “January 6 Congressional Investigation Committee”. It has been subsequently claimed that so-called “bi-partisan investigation” withheld what’s referred to (in legal terms) as “exculpatory evidence” — meaning evidence that refuted the committee’s pre-ordained conclusions.
The House Administration Subcommittee on Oversight, chaired by Rep. Barry Loudermilk, R-Ga., released its first findings from its year-long probe into Capitol security failures on Jan. 6, 2021, and the initial Democrat effort to investigate the incident. The report provided evidence contradicting several claims that Democrats made in their final report in December 2022.
As for Ms. Cheney’s ‘principles of integrity’: while serving on the “Jan 6″ committee she allegedly had improper contact with a committee witness. Aside from that being politically questionable ethics, Ms. Cheney is also lawyer. That sort of contact with a witness is a serious violation of lawyer ethics that could get her disbarred.
Ms. Cheney, who now supports Democrat presidential candidate Kamala Harris, is a staunch advocate of the ‘military industrial complex’ efforts to constantly engage the United States in wars around the globe – a foreign policy Trump strongly opposes.
I have a very personal interest in not wanting the United States getting into any more wars. My only grandson is a Marine, currently based in Japan. He advises his unit is “gearing up” for a combat deployment – and by ‘gearing up” I don’t mean figuratively. His is not a front-line combat unit, yet they are being issued combat gear and are (for those familiar with military parlance) ‘standing by to stand by’ for deployment – somewhere!
Returning Donald Trump to the Presidency is a potential matter of life and death to a member of my family. So I don’t appreciate Mr. Duncan, and those afflicted with TDS, suggesting that I am a cultist because I support Trump’s re-election.