Trump Derangement Syndrome (TDS)

Syndrome: “Pathology, Psychiatry. A group of symptoms that together are characteristic of a specific disorder, disease, or the like”. Dictionary.com

The symptoms of a recently detected disorder have soared into a full blown serious illness. As word spread that Donald Trump had won a resounding Electoral College victory millions of Americans became emotionally ill. A wave of distress washed over the East and West coasts. It was particularly severe on university campuses. An emotional shock wave rattled the brains of academics, celebrities, elites and coastal sophisticates. Safe spaces were created. Emotionally weak, fully propagandized and pampered young people were particularly vulnerable. The election result blew a huge hole out of the roof of their isolation bubble.

Mainstream media’s public faces were apoplectic. Tears were shed on camera. Professionalism disappeared. Feigned objectivity was no longer possible. To this day most sufferers have failed to get a grip on the distance between the election and the fictional world they had both occupied and presented to the public. One clear indication of emotional illness is a detachment from reality. As such the syndrome spread like a virulent flu bug. Relief could only be achieved by overturning the election. Thus the illness metastasizes.

It peaked in its manic phase. Instead of moderating, it morphed into a national malady. When TDS’ers world was turned upside down, frustration, trauma, poor judgment and a dangerous susceptibility to delusion followed. In their traumatized state the sky looks like it is falling. Intellects have been rendered a flock of Chicken Little mimics.

Rumors and leaks are treated like the Holy Grail. News professionals were caught spreading lies. When some of the most obvious inaccuracies were revealed apologies, dismissals and resignations followed. Foolish panics pressed ahead learning nothing. Ambiguities were always interpreted to place the President in the worst possible light. Unreliable sources merge with anonymous leaks to vindictive the worst fears of syndrome sufferers. The news business looks more like an ethics free Wild West then a profession dedicated to exposing the truth. Good information revealing genuine problems (real news) is rare, as facts have been marginalized by a tsunami of “fake news”.

TDS sufferer’s lack of insight is not unlike what plagues an anorexic. Its similar to a five foot six, eighty-five pound woman looking in the mirror and seeing a fat person. TDS patients see everything Trump says, Tweets, implies: his looks and all his associates as repulsive, bigoted, ignorant and invidious. A psychologically based reflection of Trump forms the foundation of their perceptions.

Needless to say President Trump does provide sufferers with reasons to avoid recognition of their illness. In this sense he does little to help those troubled souls recover as he steps on his own toes as a matter of course. There is much about his demeanor, imprecise use of language, inconsistencies, stupid remarks and unconventional leadership style that disturbs me. On way too many occasions he does not act presidential. He get’s way too personal with his remarks and over-reacts to the mildest criticism. It drives me nuts and lowers the level of public debate. However, when I sense that these externalities are about to cloud my judgment, I employ a bit of discipline using common sense to separate all the crap (‘shit’ as he has alleged to have said) from what Trump has accomplished.

Syndrome sufferers have been rendered incapable of this kind of rational thought when it involves Trump. All they can see is a malevolent and dangerous person. Put a negative adjective in front of his name and they reflexively respond, amen.

The condition that plagues them leaves them deaf, dumb and blind to any reality that might associate Trump with doing or saying anything that is positive or good for the nation. Let alone doing what his voters elected him to do. One might call it an ailment where people are incapable of valuing substance over style.

Proof positive of my less then medically credentialed diagnosis is the following list of what Trump has actually done. These deeds have received little attention from the media. Media’s attention is overwhelmingly directed at the noise. It may be irritating, offensive, titillating and unconventional noise but noise nonetheless. Agree or disagree with his accomplsohemnts, most of what he has done is embraced by at least half of the electorate. Those who are incapable of evaluating substance because of TDS will be condemned to suffer for at least 3 more years. As life gets markedly better, which it will likely continue to do, traumatized TDS’ers will yap and scold with righteous indignation as prosperity flourishes. Just observe how they have managed to bypass all the good news over the last two weeks.

This partial list comes courtesy of the Washington Examiner:
Jobs and the economy
• Passage of the tax reform bill providing $5.5 billion in cuts and repealing the Obama care mandate.
• Increase of the GDP above 3 percent.
• Creation of 1.7 million new jobs, cutting unemployment to 4.1 percent.
• Saw the Dow Jones reach record highs.
• A rebound in economic confidence to a 17-year high.
• A new executive order to boost apprenticeships.
• A move to boost computer sciences in Education Department programs.
• Prioritizing women-owned businesses for some $500 million in SBA loans.

(Current updates: 1.The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports 6.8 percent unemployment rate for black workers in December, 2017, the lowest in the 45 years the data has been tracked. 2. More then two million people have received raises and or bonuses because of the tax bill and half dozen utilities have lowered their rates.)

Killing job-stifling regulations
• Signed an Executive Order demanding that two regulations be killed for every new one creates. He beat that big and cut 16 rules and regulations for every one created, saving $8.1 billion.
• Signed 15 congressional regulatory cuts.
• Withdrew from the Obama-era Paris Climate Agreement, ending the threat of environmental regulations.
• Signed an Executive Order cutting the time for infrastructure permit approvals.
• Eliminated an Obama rule on streams that Trump felt unfairly targeted the coal industry.
Fair trade
• Made good on his campaign promise to withdraw from the Trans-Pacific Partnership.
• Opened up the North American Free Trade Agreement for talks to better the deal for the U.S.
• Worked to bring companies back to the U.S., and companies like Toyota, Mazda, Broadcom Limited, and Foxconn announced plans to open U.S. plants.
• Worked to promote the sale of U.S products abroad.
• Made enforcement of U.S. trade laws, especially those that involve national security, a priority.
• Ended Obama’s deal with Cuba.
Boosting U.S. energy dominance
• The Department of Interior, which has led the way in cutting regulations, opened plans to lease 77 million acres in the Gulf of Mexico for oil and gas drilling.
• Trump traveled the world to promote the sale and use of U.S. energy.
• Expanded energy infrastructure projects like the Keystone XL Pipeline snubbed by Obama.
• Ordered the Environmental Protection Agency to kill Obama’s Clean Power Plan.
• EPA is reconsidering Obama rules on methane emissions.
Protecting the U.S. homeland
• Laid out new principles for reforming immigration and announced plan to end “chain migration,” which lets one legal immigrant to bring in dozens of family members.
• Made progress to build the border wall with Mexico.
• Ended the Obama-era “catch and release” of illegal immigrants.
• Boosted the arrests of illegals inside the U.S.
• Doubled the number of counties participating with Immigration and Customs Enforcement charged with deporting illegals.
• Removed 36 percent more criminal gang members than in fiscal 2016.
• Started the end of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival program.
• Ditto for other amnesty programs like Deferred Action for Parents of Americans.
• Cracking down on some 300 sanctuary cities that defy ICE but still get federal dollars.
• Added some 100 new immigration judges.
Protecting communities
• Justice announced grants of $98 million to fund 802 new cops.
• Justice worked with Central American nations to arrest and charge 4,000 MS-13 members.
• Homeland rounded up nearly 800 MS-13 members, an 83 percent one-year increase.
• Signed three executive orders aimed at cracking down on international criminal organizations.
• Attorney General Jeff Sessions created new National Public Safety Partnership, a cooperative initiative with cities to reduce violent crimes.
Accountability
• Trump has nominated 73 federal judges and won his nomination of Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court.
• Ordered ethical standards including a lobbying ban.
• Called for a comprehensive plan to reorganize the executive branch.
• Ordered an overhaul to modernize the digital government.
• Called for a full audit of the Pentagon and its spending.
Combatting opioids
• First, the president declared a Nationwide Public Health Emergency on opioids.
• His Council of Economic Advisors played a role in determining that overdoses are underreported by as much as 24 percent.
• The Department of Health and Human Services laid out a new five-point strategy to fight the crisis.
• Justice announced it was scheduling fentanyl substances as a drug class under the Controlled Substances Act.
• Justice started a fraud crackdown, arresting more than 400.
• The administration added $500 million to fight the crisis.
• On National Drug Take Back Day, the Drug Enforcement Agency collected 456 tons.
Protecting life
• In his first week, Trump reinstated and expanded the Mexico City Policy that blocks some $9 billion in foreign aid being used for abortions.
• Worked with Congress on a bill overturning an Obama regulation that blocked states from defunding abortion providers.
• Published guidance to block Obamacare money from supporting abortion.
Helping veterans
• Signed the Veterans Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act to allow senior officials in the Department of Veterans Affairs to fire failing employees and establish safeguards to protect whistleblowers.
• Signed the Veterans Appeals Improvement and Modernization Act.
• Signed the Harry W. Colmery Veterans Educational Assistance Act, to provide support.
• Signed the VA Choice and Quality Employment Act of 2017 to authorize $2.1 billion in additional funds for the Veterans Choice Program.
• Created a VA hotline.
• Had the VA launch an online “Access and Quality Tool,” providing veterans with a way to access wait time and quality of care data.
• With VA Secretary Dr. David Shulkin, announced three initiatives to expand access to healthcare for veterans using telehealth technology.
Promoting peace through strength
• Directed the rebuilding of the military and ordered a new national strategy and nuclear posture review.
• Worked to increase defense spending.
• Empowered military leaders to “seize the initiative and win,” reducing the need for a White House sign off on every mission.
• Directed the revival of the National Space Council to develop space war strategies.
• Elevated U.S. Cyber Command into a major warfighting command.
• Withdrew from the U.N. Global Compact on Migration, which Trump saw as a threat to borders.
• Imposed a travel ban on nations that lack border and anti-terrorism security.
• Saw ISIS lose virtually all of its territory.
• Pushed for strong action against global outlaw North Korea and its development of nuclear weapons.
• Announced a new Afghanistan strategy that strengthens support for U.S. forces at war with terrorism.
• NATO increased support for the war in Afghanistan.
• Approved a new Iran strategy plan focused on neutralizing the country’s influence in the region.
• Ordered missile strikes against a Syrian airbase used in a chemical weapons attack.
• Prevented subsequent chemical attacks by announcing a plan to detect them better and warned of future strikes if they were used.
• Ordered new sanctions on the dictatorship in Venezuela.
Restoring confidence in and respect for America
• Trump won the release of Americans held abroad, often using his personal relationships with world leaders.
• Made good on a campaign promise to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
• Conducted a historic 12-day trip through Asia, winning new cooperative deals. On the trip, he attended three regional summits to promote American interests.
• He traveled to the Middle East and Europe to build new relationships with leaders.
• Traveled to Poland and on to Germany for the G-20 meeting where he pushed again for funding of women entrepreneurs.