Maybe you didn’t say it, but I’ve heard it from multiple sources, sometimes in all-CAPS. I have Trump Derangement Syndrome (TDS). Anyone who criticizes, or even questions, our current president gets the label, even when backing opinions with documented, undisputable facts. There is no defense.
If you check out comments on this blog at WTVB’s Facebook page, you will find that my TDS is seriously out of control. While I admit to being critical in my opinion column, let me gently point out that an opinion column exists as a vehicle to express opinions. Those opinions should be backed up by research and facts – they are.
I encourage discussion. I spend a lot of time ensuring that I know my topics, and I enjoy email dialogue with readers. If you email me, I will respond. But if your only point is “You have TDS,” you might just get another copy of this column in response.
No one ever accused me of BDS when I criticized the last administration for an open border, for continuous efforts to forgive college debt obligations, or for running a candidate who was obviously not up to the challenge, or the job. I was praised for having insight and vision and for being fair and balanced. That was last year.
These should be productive times for the MAGA movement because everything has lined up perfectly for all things MAGA. They needed Congress, loyal courts, and the OK to set aside most of the Constitution. Then, throw in unlimited immunity and you’ll see greatness.
We did all that. So, what happened?
Congress took this term off. The Supreme Court, who used to seem judicial, is now just a 6-3 political pawn (as any president would strive for). And the Cabinet is filled with inexperienced folks who seem to have bypassed the vetting process by pledging that “I agree with whatever Trump says.” It all set up perfectly.
A document that noted things like checks and balances and three co-equal branches of government has become a nuisance to ignore when it becomes inconvenient or to reinterpret in order to meet today’s needs. Its pages have yellowed, and its impact has grayed.
The stock market is doing great. So, rich people are doing really great. But be cautious with your billions because corrections are projected. Elon Musk has added a couple hundred billion to his net worth (gotta keep asking this – How much is enough?) and Donald Trump’s net worth has increased a billion or three in one year (gotta keep asking). And any alien can now become a U.S. citizen by ponying up five million bucks. “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.” Or just give us some rich folks. That’s America now.
Trump says prices are down, but they are not. Gas is NOT under $2 per gallon and every study shows prices are still escalating. Saying it, does not make it so. And affordability, that “Democratic hoax” that Trump doesn’t want to talk about, is no more affordable.
The economy is growing, but at a pace similar to 2024, under the “worst president in history.” And the richest Americans are driving most of the economic growth. Waitstaff and service workers are budgeting, delaying purchases and wondering how they’ll meet their 300 percent insurance bill increases that come due starting this month.
Working-class Trump voters, who were promised immediate economic relief, immediate ends to wars, instant gratification on all MAGA issues, and America-First, are now urging the rest of us to “wait and see” and calling our impatience TDS.
Check out U.S. farmers. Tariffs reduced opportunities to sell crops to foreign interests, and uplifts in beef imports have impacted pricing and U.S. sales. So, the administration implemented a $12 billion partial bailout to help make up the difference. Socialism, anybody?
Tyson Foods announced it will be closing its beef processing plant in Lexington, Nebraska this month, effectively cutting 3,200 jobs, in a town of 11,000 residents. Tyson ran the plant for 35 years and listed reduced U.S. cattle supplies and significant financial losses in its beef division as factors forcing the shutdown.
MS-NOW reporter Rosa Flores interviewed a Lexington resident standing on a roadside, with a cardboard sign asking passers-by for money. When asked about President Trump’s deflecting of the term “affordability” as a “hoax,” the man replied, “I believe in anything that Donald Trump is doing.”
Perhaps TDS is any criticism of President Trump and his policies. Or, could it be the ironic inability to recognize any single mistake or fault in President Trump and his policies. Some may call it drinking the Kool-Aid.
We were sold America-first, but billions are flowing to Israel, Argentina, Ethiopia, and now Venezuela. And we’re hearing Cuba, Columbia and Greenland are on the table. Regarding Venezuela questions on whether the goal of last week’s military action was regime-change, drug enforcement, or oil profits, multiple sources offered multiple answers. But Trump was clear that it was for oil and to boost U.S. oil companies, who apparently were informed of the mission in advance, but Congress was not.
Then, when questioned if his supporters will be content with the military mission and all the resource requirements that will result from the action, Trump responded, “MAGA is me. MAGA loves everything I do, and I love everything I do, too.” How about another Kool-Aid, folks?
If you continue to defend every whim, deflect every criticism, spin every event, and support every policy without question, you may have just defined the real Trump Derangement Syndrome.
Curt MacRae is a resident of Coldwater, MI and publishes opinion columns regularly.
To be notified by email when a column is published, or to offer feedback: rantsbymac@gmail.com
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