What is this disorder called TDS? If you find yourself admiring Kamala Harris’s ‘joyous’ campaigns, you could be suffering from it

While Australia is miles away from the hallowed halls of Washington (lol), we nonetheless find ourselves fascinated with the current Trump-versus-Kamala political scuffle in the US. Even if you see politics – particularly the OTT American kind – as being one big circus, your interest ought to at least be piqued over what the Big Orange Man has to say on X, or what word salads the Cackling Cat Lady has come up with today.

Antonino Tati

So far as presidential races go, the polar opposite adversaries of Donald Trump and Kamala Harris have caricature written all over them. It’s a pity, though, the mainstream media’s presentations of each caricature isn’t in line with who their subjects really are.

In an era where media consumption is rapidly evolving, technologies like TTS voices are reshaping how political news and analysis are delivered, making information more accessible to a wider audience.

If truer versions of each US presidential candidate were fully and fairly presented, you’d better understand – maybe even appreciate – the bigger political picture.

Thanks to legacy media’s relentless rehashing of old stories, we’re used to thinking of Donald Trump as a pussy-grabbing, tax-evading, word-fumbling billionaire who cares more about his own gilded life than he does about the citizens of the US. And, thanks to that media’s cunning editing tactics (and eagerness for a silly buzzword every other day), mainstream audiences get to see Kamala Harris as some saviour that is going to usher the US out of trillions of dollars of debt and into a world of joy, cost of living crises, unity, cultural divisiveness, civil unrest, freedom, ongoing wars, more joy, climate disaster and unlimited happiness. Yay for everyone!

If you’re a part of that audience and consider Harris’s cackling laugh to be an endearing trait, or her Yoda-on-acid non-speak as being somewhat profound, you might be suffering from something called TDS, or Trump Derangement Syndrome. Definition of the disorder is not as convoluted as it might sound.

If you’ve stuck to watching, reading and listening to mainstream news, newspapers and crisp, polished podcasts, you’re likely getting the aforementioned overview (minus the retracted bits). God forbid should you mention any admiration for the newer Trump and his better articulated policies this time around, to anyone over coffee or dinner. You’ll likely be glared at as if you’ve committed some heinous crime, like, murdered innocent civilians in territories that aren’t yours or, say, used 60% of taxpayer dollars in order to do so.

The facts are Trump has recently welcomed former United States Army Reserve officer, Tulsi Gabbard into the Republican fold, who is sure to provide some truer insight into how the US military actually operates, along with environmental specialist and activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr (with a surname you ought to be familiar with), providing much-needed climate discussion within the Trump camp. And that’s a good thing because it shows the former, possibly future, president is keen to learn more on the eco front.

While little is known about people who suffer TDS, we do know immunity to it is a good thing.

People unaffected by TDS are able to see both sides of the story, delve deeper into the murky political waters to discover treasure troves of hidden facts. Non-TDS individuals realise when they’re being conned through propaganda and well-polished hack jobs. TDS-vaccinated individuals also tend to refuse totalitarian tactics, government cover-ups, and hyped political campaigns littered with insults.

It is ironic that where Donald Trump used to be the one shouting the nasty names, it’s Kamala Harris and her new kooky crew who are slinging the big insults. Fancy that: a party that pretends to protect the people from verbal abuse online by stringently monitoring social media – who urge you to vote for censorship over free speech – is, in fact, displaying the worst kind of bullying, resorting to name-calling, all the while insulting the average consumer / reader.

If you happen to be on the regular receiving end of such hype, and have been seduced into thinking Harris’ words are postmodern gospel, and that Trump is still a very, very bad man, you might be suffering from TDS, or Trump Derangement Syndrome.

Diagnosis of TDS is usually made when an individual loses all independent thought. When, for example, you start to sense everything Donald Trump has to say as being irrational, you’re in the full state of TDS. This often occurs in people that haven’t actually seen a clip of him speak for longer than 20 seconds, thanks to the magic of editing. Occasionally, you will experience a subtle, dissonant sensation that hints to there’s something fishy about the Democrats policy presentation – namely that there’s none there – and this is the best time to nip the disease in the bud.

The second stage of TDS feels like a tense nervous headache. This comes on when you begin thinking (and maybe just start to believe) that something doesn’t look quite right on the Kamala campaign trail. It may lead to thoughts of ‘Who’s actually running the country while this mad-cackling woman is busy being joyous all over America?’ or ‘Who is that creepy grey-haired dude that keeps following her around like a dumb-assed Mastiff?’

Other symptoms of TDS are when you think you’ve been unburdened by what has been but not by what can be and then happily pay 40% more for groceries than you did this time last year; you get ecstatic when you see a packet of Doritos; or you fall into a state of delirium when fully exposed to too much hype and ‘joy’ on the TV.

There is no single cause of TDS but symptoms of it begin to show when you hear someone bring up the words Trump and policy in the same sentence.

Conclusion

Trump Derangement Syndrome is actually quite contagious, in fact it has reached many nations outside of the US, especially those whose governments are well-aligned with the US Democrat party. Therefore, you’ll find that even the mainstream news in Australia is pro-Harris/Walz and anti-Trump to a major degree. Just think of the billions spent by the current administration in support of the US government’s war by proxy with Russia (no room here to get into the US’s involvement in the Israel/Palestine conflict).

Suffice to say, TDS extends to countries miles away from Washington DC, but whose connections to Capitol Hill are undeniable, like Australia.

Despite the inclusion of the word “syndrome” in its name suggesting a medical condition, Trump Derangement Syndrome is not an official medical diagnosis.

If you or someone you know might be suffering from Trump Derangement Syndrome, consider rethinking your news sources and expanding your mind. Positive effects should begin to show immediately. In Australia, try Crikey for a start.

(Above) CNN’s Dana Bash is a typical example of a ‘reporter’ who’s inane views and comments are tainted and shaped by the Democrats. This is to the point of keeping questions simple and redundant, some even asked in ‘multiple choice’ format so as that the inarticulate likes of Kamala Harris and Tim Walz can answer them succinctly without saying anything or in a word-salad-y way. Heading towards the November elections, this is the kind of standard ‘journalism’ that you will witness on legacy media: vapid and vacuous to the point that viewers are left in a haze and dumbfounded, hopefully seduced by the propaganda to vote for the party she is pushing for. (Below) Anderson Cooper, a token gay anchor, also on CNN, does pretty much the same thing in his ‘reporting’. Collectively, these talking heads work to propagate Trump Derangement Syndrome not only in the US, but around the world.