Two Forms of TDS
- Those who believe Trump can do no right
- Those who believe Trump can do no wrong
Various CNN, WaPo, CNBC, and New York Times commentators fall into group 1.
People who accuse others of TDS if when say the slightest thing against Trump fall into group 2.
Accused Again
In response to Iraq to Expel US Troops, Iran Cancels Nuclear Agreement and as expected, I was again accused of having TDS.
This is despite the fact that I have praised Trump’s court picks and I have called the impeachment process against Trump a witch hunt.
On December 15, I wrote Christmas Impeachment Stocking: There’s Nothing In It.
I have also been accused of having TDS when I criticized Trump’s trade policies.
Facts of the Matter
- I am a Libertarian.
- I am in favor of free markets in trade
- I am very anti-war
- I believe the US does not belong in the Mideast
- It is a war crime to target cultural sites.
I would speak out against anyone taking the other side of those issues. Thus, Trump has nothing at all to do with it.
TDS Irony
It is the people who mindlessly believe Trump can do no right or wrong who have TDS.
Most of those accusing others of TDS, have it themselves.
Number One Afflicted Person
Trump, more than any person in the world is in love with himself. He thinks he is the remaking of Rocky.
If that’s not totally deranged, what is?
Perception vs Reality
https://twitter.com/OutspokenInk/status/1199764985162936321
For further discussion and more examples of Trump depicting himself as a hero, please see Did Trump Tweet a Picture of Himself as Rocky Balboa?
The next time you accuse someone of having TDS, please look at Trump first, then in a mirror to see who really has it.
Mike “Mish” Shedlock
Here’s an instant TDS measuring gauge. Look at the picture and then measure your reaction. Are you:
Type 1 (outraged, disgusted, frightened, angry) or:
Type 2 (in awe at his being clearly favoured by the Light of the Almighty or:
Type S (Sane, i.e. you find it kinda funny, especially since the whole thing was obviously staged to look that way in order to stimulate both Type 1 and Type 2 TDS!)
Good points, Mish, but don’t lose your sense of humor with Trump. If you think the Rocky picture is a) made by him and b) sent out as some sort humorless message, well that’s going too far.
I think the Trump meme war thing is actually fun. It’s deliberate trolling of the humorless mainstream 24/7 demonization campaign.
That golf picture is disturbing, but waddya wanna bet it’s photo-shopped? If so, shame on you for using it to make a somewhat shallow point.
That said, there are many other related syndromes of which TDS is merely a recent – and rather pedestrian – example. Endless delusions, we might call them, like belief that the FBI G-men can all be trusted, that the CIA is a patriotic institution protecting US citizens, that Presidents run the country and get there via ‘free and fair elections,’ that the US is a Democratic Republic (and not a criminally-run oligarchy), that GM foods are safe, the US Medical Industry provides by far the best health care in the world, that agro-business methods are the safest and most efficient in world history, that Fox News is ‘far right,’ that CNN is ‘centrist,’ that Obama was a Great President and on and on and on.
In the midst of such a deeply entrenched maelstrom of confusion, in a political climate rife with identity politics and other inanities, is it any wonder that polarised and equally deluded views of the current President start to resemble the latest Marvel Movie heroes and villains?
Or put another way: TDS (both types) has absolutely nothing to do with Trump!
OK, the “diarrhea” pic is a fake, just in case anybody didn’t catch that fact check.
Why is everyone accusing everyone else of being deranged when the prime person under discussion is clearly a danger to their own country and the world?
Granted, he might have only been teetering on the edge of sanity when people voted for him and it might have been easy to confuse Trump’s persona with the sort of gung-ho spirit that you’ve been told repeatedly made America great. But how the GOP can still be actively supporting this childish lunatic makes my snot fizz.
“Why is everyone accusing everyone else of being deranged when the prime person under discussion is clearly a danger to their own country and the world?”
Russia Russia Russia.
It wasn’t Trump that started that. It wasn’t Trump that sold the U.S. out to China. It wasn’t Trump that that planned on overthrowing X countries in Y years in the Middleast, as Wesley Clark proclaimed.
James Dobbins: Negotiating with Iran: Reflections from Personal Experience.
But diplomacy is for sissies, draft dodgers prefer war.
It has been reported that Iran has their cyber command in Cultural Sites. Who to believe —
Noone. Ever. It’s all propaganda, all the way down.
It’s not just TDS, there is a generalized derangement syndrome. When people bring up the OPCW scandal, they’re called Assad apologists. If Steven Cohen discusses Putin’s historical record on behalf of Russia, he is a Putin fan. If Tulsi Gabbard says we should get out of the Middle East, she is an Assad puppet, a useful idiot, and repeating Russian talking points.
This is the ultimate end stage of identitarian politics, which in fact is the state of affairs even in many nominally democratic countries. Some tribal or ethnic group or configuration controls all the swing votes, so that every election and every issue is, in the word of George Bushjr, “You are either for us or against us!”
That is the kind of statement that has no place in any “democratic” government, which is not, as many think, based on the most votes, but is based on policy decisions taken on the basis of reason, as voiced by public debate.
The end stage of identity politics, as is in the US, is war.
Gabbard is the only actual antiwar canidate. the media and the dems and the rep are owned by the warmongers. Gabbard is the only voice in the wilderness.
Really, Mish, you deleted that awesome pic? Why?
Checks and balances are for losers. We’ve been proving that for decades. Trump is winning at the game more than ever. 😉 https://hikinginthelight.us/founding-fathers-intended-executive-branch-to-be-unchecked-nation-delighted-to-learn/
I have to grudgingly give the media a lot of credit for these past four years. By needling Trump daily, they have conditioned people to defend Trump reflexively, no matter what. Whether he’s MAGA or MIGA, few care anymore.
The comments on sites like ZH have been eye opening too. They flood in so fast that hardly anyone bothers to write more than one sentence. It’s all sound bites, monkeys flinging poo at each other. Many are calling for nuclear strikes and even genocide like it’s post 9/11 again.
Everyone who engineered this divide and conquer narrative deserves a pat on the back, especially whoever writes Q-Anon. I wouldn’t have come up with a nebulous concept like 4D chess, it’s so stupid it’s brilliant!
It is going to be a lonnggg year till elections.
TDS type 2 – Totally Dour and Sour.
The Trump as Balboa pick was really funny! Usually Trump’s jokes are at the expense of the Democrats (which provide him too much material), but sometimes it is at his own expense. Covefefe is best served hot. Trump can be taken seriously but not literally, but some can’t separate the two. Trump is often non-serious.
I generally place such things as the cultural site attacks as hyperbole. The thing is Iran can’t be sure, and you are sure enough scared he just might do it (Would Iran blow up the Smithsonian, or Museum of Modern Art?).
Iran has a large (60k+?) Jewish population, and I’m sure there are some culturally and historically significant Synagogues. Are they going to be targets?
When was the last time you laughed? Can you still do so?
After evaluating, I was for the droning of the military General, especially after THEY in a war crime targeted our embassy and killed an American contractor.
But I’m for settling things and an exit strategy. Instead of this “Orange Man Bad”, an actual stinging rhetorical counter attack would involve “So, breaking your promise, we are going to combine the LOSER Afghan and Iraqi quagmires through Iran and be an even bigger LOSER?”
This should be common knowledge by now. No idea why some people still don’t get it.
The market seems to get it. So collectively, we do!
Damn! I’m going on testosterone replacement therapy now! LOL. Actually I had considered it but apparently you still get some of the side effects even if you aren’t producing it like you used to so unfort ill pass.
Don’t forget fox news in #2
Lesson 1: Never try arguing with internet trolls.