Recently, New York City psychotherapist Jonathan Alpert spoke out about what he calls Trump Derangement Syndrome (TDS), arguing the phenomenon is very real. According to Alpert, many of his patients are “obsessed” with Donald Trump. He described them as “hyper‑fixated,” reporting that they can’t sleep, feel traumatized or restless, and become so emotionally consumed that even a vacation becomes unenjoyable if they see Trump in the news. At least one patient reportedly said that seeing Trump on her phone triggered intense distress — a pattern Alpert calls “a profound pathology,” even calling it “the defining pathology of our time.”
Alpert estimates that roughly 75 percent of his patients exhibit what he identifies as symptoms of TDS. He notes, however, that he is not using the term as a formal medical diagnosis but rather to describe recurring emotional and psychological patterns he’s observed in real therapy sessions.
Point proven. Now where’s the vaccine? pic.twitter.com/tqRqGXhY4l
— your average Bob (@BobByTheWay101) November 24, 2025
Since going public on this with an op‑ed in The Wall Street Journal and appearing on Fox News last week, Alpert says he has received dozens of hostile messages — including profane insults and explicit death threats. One text reportedly told him: “Eat s— and die you racist fascist piece of s—… f—ing uneducated MAGA scumbag.” Others described him as a “pedophile protector” or threatened bodily harm.
Alpert reacted by saying he expected disagreement, but not the intensity of the hostility — especially from people in the mental‑health field. He observed a stark contradiction: many individuals who preach empathy, tolerance, and inclusion responded with hate and threats. He suggests this reaction underscores his core point: for some people, political anger toward Trump has morphed into intense emotional disturbance.
Regardless of disagreement over the concept, Alpert says his goal is to help patients separate emotional reactivity from facts, learn to tolerate political discomfort, and prevent political obsessions from dominating their mental health and daily lives.