Trump says 'Trump Derangement Syndrome' is 'actually a disease'

During a White House event on May 11, President Donald Trump said critics, including Democrats, suffered from "Trump derangement syndrome," going as far as calling it an actual disease.

Trump made the comments during an event focusing on new maternal health initiatives, including the launch of Moms.gov, which the Trump administration said is designed to provide resources for expecting mothers.

The president said Democrats who voted against his spending package in 2025 did so out of what he called "Trump derangement," adding that they "couldn’t even see straight" because of it.

"They've got serious Trump derangement, which actually is a disease. I'm hearing it is actually a disease. It's an honor," Trump said.

Following Trump's comments, the White House posted on X a faux prescription to treat the non-existent condition, advising people to trust in Trump, listen to the national anthem, limit the consumption of "fake news" and caution against being a "panican" — a term Trump coined in April 2025 for what he called "weak and stupid" people.

What is 'Trump derangement syndrome' about?

Trump and his administration have long accused his critics of having "Trump derangement syndrome."

In the early stages of the 2024 presidential campaign, when former President Joe Biden accused Trump of using language that echoed Nazi propaganda, Trump's campaign called it a sign of "Trump derangement syndrome," a term the president also used against former Vice President Kamala Harris along the 2024 campaign trail.

"Trump derangement syndrome" iterates an earlier version of the term — "Bush derangement syndrome" — coined by prominent conservative commentator Charles Krauthammer.

Krauthammer, before he died in 2018, wrote a column describing the evolution of the term for Trump as having "not just general hysteria about the subject, but additionally the inability to distinguish between legitimate policy differences on the one hand and signs of psychic pathology on the other."

Trump also notably used the term after the stabbing deaths of beloved Hollywood director Rob Reiner and his wife, Michele Singer Reiner, in December 2025. In a Dec. 15 Truth Social post, the president said Reiner's death was "reportedly due to the anger he caused others through… a mind crippling disease known as TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME."

"He was known to have driven people CRAZY by his raging obsession of President Donald J. Trump," the president wrote in a post.

Contributing: Kinsey Crowley, USA TODAY; Jordan Green, The Commercial Appeal

Fernando Cervantes Jr. is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach him at [email protected] and follow him on X @fern_cerv_.