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With Minnesota GOP lawmakers proposing a bill recognising Trump Derangement Syndrome (TDS) as an official mental illness, what does this actually mean? What are its implications, and why is its true significance—like everything else—so frequently overlooked in this increasingly dystopian, tribalised, end-of-empire political pageantry?

The bill, introduced by a senator who was conveniently caught in a police sting the following day, defines TDS as “the acute onset of paranoia in otherwise normal persons in reaction to the policies and presidencies of President Donald J. Trump”. It suggests that symptoms may include “Trump-induced general hysteria”, characterised by “verbal expressions of intense hostility” toward the former president or “overt acts of aggression and violence” against his supporters. The bill proposes amending the state’s definition of mental illness to classify TDS as an organic brain disorder that “seriously limits a person’s capacity to function in primary aspects of daily living, such as personal relations, living arrangements, work, and recreation.”

From a MAGA perspective, the bill seems entirely justified, and supporters can readily cite examples to back their point. The left, once known for its anti-establishment stance, now rages with the machine and finds itself aligned with corporate and military interests, calling for escalated conflict in Ukraine—largely because Trump has become an unlikely figurehead for peace, regardless of his actual motives. Liberals have also positioned themselves as defenders of institutions they once sought to dismantle, opposing oversight and audits meant to hold these entities accountable to taxpayers. Had Obama pursued the same anti-corruption policies, he would have been heralded as a hero. In reality, as Wikileaks exposed, he was merely the “humanitarian face of endless wars”—a fitting rationale for a Nobel Peace Prize in these Orwellian times.

The hysteria surrounding Trump is palpable. Mainstream media has bombarded audiences with the idea—perhaps rightly—that he poses a threat to this shitshow we call democracy. He was allegedly set to imprison political opponents, weaponise the media, and cling to power regardless of the 2020 vote. Yet these fears never materialised during his first term. Ironically, similar tactics were employed under President Biden, when intelligence agencies conspired to bury the Hunter Biden laptop story as Russian disinformation. Meanwhile, the Justice Department was mobilised to convict Trump on minor charges—offences that most politicians on either side could likely be found guilty of—simply to prevent him from running again.

To MAGA supporters, the deep state has been weaponised against their leader, and they demand retribution against those who, in their view, subverted democracy. Even those who find Trump’s rhetoric crude and wouldn’t want their daughters “grabbed by the pussy” can accept crude, ego-fuelled “locker room talk” and see these concerns as trivial compared to systemic corruption, economic hardship, and the widening poverty gap. Anyone willing to challenge the political establishment—even just in rhetoric—seems like a risk worth taking if there is to be any meaningful change.

MAGA is not a monolith, and assuming, as many liberals do, that its followers are a uniform block of easily manipulated zealots is not only inaccurate but also dangerously simplistic. However, for those afflicted with TDS, the introduction of this bill might only serve to confirm their worst fears. It could be seen as the first step toward suppressing Trump’s critics or preventing them from holding public office—an eerie reminder that the Roman Republic eventually gave way to an empire. Though “Hail Trump” lacks the poetic weight of “Hail Caesar”, his opponents warn that “Sieg Heil” might be a more fitting analogy, with Musk playing a modern-day Dr Evil, accompanied by his very own mini-me, his son X, at every PR opportunity.

The stark contrast between how media outlets portray the administration’s crackdown on unaccountable government spending—from defence audits to social programmes—exemplifies the polarised narrative shaping public perception. Mainstream media highlight the cuts to the small areas of USAID that do good, human rights concerns, such as limited access to contraception for impoverished Mexican women, while the alt-right media focuses on extreme examples of waste, like a $20 million LGBTQ Iraqi Sesame Street project to ignite identity politic tensions, a small rung on the ladder of destabilisation and regime change—ignoring the domestic crises of homelessness and the fact that Flint STILL doesn’t have clean water. Each side paints its opposition as an undifferentiated mass of gullible ideologues, perpetuating the same counterproductive tribalism.

This division is precisely the point. If you consume only news that validates your pre-existing beliefs, you remain trapped in a tribal mindset, further fuelling the problem. The real power brokers—the banking elites and corporate shareholders—are experts in psychological manipulation. They understand that in late-stage empires, as economies falter and societies decay, divide-and-conquer strategies are essential to deflect blame and ensure that public outrage never targets the true architects of their suffering. The right blame immigrants and the woke mind virus for the escalating problems within society, and the left blame racism and limiting, nonprogressive traditional values. The real culprit is, as it always was, the establishment, and although there are factions within the upper echelons vying for power, they will play both sides effortlessly and protect their own before ever serving the people.

TDS, then, is arguably a bipartisan affliction. Idolising Trump as a political saviour is just as irrational as believing he is uniquely evil—far worse than the warmongering Bushes, kill list Clintons, or creepy Uncle Joe and his penchant for showering with his teenage daughter. The left’s fears of Trump dismantling democracy fall on deaf ears because, for many MAGA supporters, democracy was an illusion that never represented them. Some see strong leadership as the only viable solution, much like Germans did in 1932. Others believe the democratic process has been a pantomime for decades, a two-party corporatocracy designed to maintain the status quo. In that sense, Trump’s overt threats to “crush the system” are both alarming and yet potentially appealing.

Meanwhile, those who decried authoritarianism under Trump were often the same people who championed vaccine mandates and vilified the unvaccinated during COVID. The irony is striking: you either support individual autonomy and limited government overreach, or you don’t. Shifting that stance based on political allegiance is short-sighted, as history has repeatedly shown that the very powers you support today may one day be turned against you.

Free speech, once a leftist rallying cry, has now become a Republican talking point—though its commitment is already wavering. With the GOP back in office, pro-Palestine protests are being criminalised as antisemitic, students like Mahmoud Khalil are facing deportation, and critical voices on Twitter are being censored or shadow-banned. The extent to which this is influenced by Elon Musk’s personal ties—such as his relationship with his latest ‘baby mother’ that’s arguably a honey trap connected to Israeli intelligence—is a question for another day. While Epstein may be gone, deep state blackmail operations are alive and well.

For critical thinkers, the frustration lies in seeing these patterns repeat while the majority remain blind to their broader implications. The ruling class understands that opposition parties always seem reasonable when out of power because they must appeal to voters. Yet once in office, they inevitably disappoint, as their true accountability lies not with the electorate but with their donors. Trump has already let down many in the MAGA movement, just as Biden has disappointed the left. Yet, through echo chambers, supporters either remain oblivious or make excuses, as people often do when faced with disillusionment.

The obsession with Trump and Musk from both ends of the political spectrum should be met with scepticism. It often feels more like a distraction—a manufactured spectacle to divert attention from the real mechanisms of power. Figures like J.D. Vance and Peter Thiel, along with their ideological ally Curtis Yarvin, are the ones to watch. Yarvin, a pseudo-intellectual incel with a peculiar reverence for Queen Elizabeth I, argues that democracy has failed and that absolute monarchy is the answer—ironically missing the point that authoritarianism itself is the problem. His contempt for the ‘peasantry’ and his failure to recognise the contradictions in his own argument should concern both liberals and conservatives alike. After all, he dismisses democracy on the basis that the masses are too ignorant to choose a competent leader—yet fails to acknowledge that Trump, whom he supports, would himself be the very demagogue he claims to oppose.

Ultimately, having TDS—on either extreme—is exactly where they want you. Anyone that was concerned by the WEF and their globalist agenda to create a world of technocratic feudalism should be equally concerned by the new intellectual right and their arguments to essentially create a nationalist society of technocratic feudalism. Motives are complex, as are cause and effect, but when judgement replaces understanding, conflict escalates. Both sides will commit atrocities in the name of good to prevent evil from winning. Unless we recognise this soon, we all lose.