SAINT PAUL, Minn. — A group of Minnesota Republican lawmakers plan to introduce a controversial bill that would add “Trump Derangement Syndrome” to the definition of mental illness.
Five lawmakers plan to introduce the bill to a Senate subcommittee Monday. In the bill language, the lawmakers describe Trump Derangement Syndrome as “the acute onset of paranoia in otherwise normal persons that is in reaction to the policies and presidencies of President Donald J. Trump.”
The bill goes on to say the “syndrome” can be characterized by “verbal expressions of intense hostility toward President Donald J. Trump” or “overt acts of aggression and violence against anyone supporting President Donald J. Trump.”
DFL Senate Majority Leader Erin Murphy called the bill “shameful” and argues it “trivializes” mental health issues.
“This is possibly the worst bill in Minnesota history. If it is meant as a joke, it is a waste of staff time and taxpayer resources that trivializes serious mental health issues,” Sen. Murphy said in a statement. “If the authors are serious, it is an affront to free speech and an expression of a dangerous level of loyalty to an authoritarian president. The authors should be ashamed, and the citizens we’re hearing from are rightfully outraged. Republicans should disown this idea and the bill should be withdrawn.”
A mental illness is legally defined in the U.S. as a “diagnosable mental, behavioral or emotional disorder,” according to Cornell Law School. “Trump Derangement Syndrome” is not considered a mental illness legally or by any major health organization.
The term’s origins date back to 2003 when political columnist Charles Krauthammer coined “Bush Derangement Syndrome.”