Conspiracy Theories, Coded Language, and Hypocrisy
Trump Derangement Syndrome
“Trump maybe a bastard but he is our bastard.” Mary Walter
Scrolling through Telegram today I found a link to a video channel, called Mary Walter Radio. I watched it so you do not have to. It was a fascinating episode with conspiracy theories, anti-Islam, and disinformation predominately expressed through coded language. The host Mary Walter is a commentator on Fox News and NewsMax and a very vocal supporter of Donald Trump. In 2024 Media Matters included her comments in a piece about the Great Replacement conspiracy theory being discussed on media. Walter had stated on NewsMax that the Democrats were bringing in people from other countries to rig the census. In 2013, Walter was already beating the drum against “illegal immigration” arguing there was unfairness in the system, and that immigrants do not want to become citizens so they do not have to pay taxes.
Walter’s guest for this episode was “Terrorist Therapist” Carole Lieberman. Liberman has acted as a psychiatric consultant on The Young and the Restless, The Bold and The Beautiful, and Paternity Court. In 2011 she stated on Fox News that there was a correlation between violent video games and sexual assault. When asked for data to back up her assessment, she provided a single study. A study that did not discuss sexual crime and video games. Gamers were not happy with her comments and left a significant number of bad reviews on her books on Amazon. Dr. Douglas Gentile who studies the relationship between violence and media, stated she really had no proof of what she was asserting on Fox News. So we have established that the host is a believer in the Great Replacement conspiracy theory and anti-immigration and the guest seems to be making research up. The good thing is the number of people watching Walter’s show is so small, that perhaps she will not have much direct reach to spread these lies, conspiracies, and hate.
The two begin their discussions that Robert Kennedy, the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services stated he was going to make Trump Derangement Syndrome (TDS) a diagnosable illness. Now, to be honest I cannot find any proof of this, other that Walter stating it on another show, after this interview. So, seem suspicious and maybe a blatant case of disinformation. Now, Mary Walter stated at the very beginning of the episode that she believes “It is absolutely a mental illness.” I am sure we have all heard Trump supporters and the president himself use the term “TDS” but just to be clear this is a term coined by political columnist and commentator Charles Krauthammer who was also a psychiatrist. He defined the term as “general hysteria among liberals, progressives, and Never Trump conservatives” that created “an inability to distinguish between legitimate policy differences and signs of psychic pathology from the president’s behaviour.” It is also used as a derogatory term for anyone who disagrees with Trump’s base or Trump himself.
Lieberman claims she has been working on making TDS a diagnosable illness for over a year and building a proposal to the American Psychiatric Association to have it included in the DSM-5. In her proposal she has developed three classifications of TDS: mild, moderate, and severe, with each level having 8-10 symptoms. Now, for someone who has been working on this proposal for a year, she really can’t clearly describe the symptoms and uses odd examples. For mild cases this would be people who throw shoes at the TV when Trump appears on screen or “have a meltdown when you hear a song associated with Trump like YMCA.” I was unaware there was a spike in TVs being broken by shoe throwing, and honestly I mostly see people on and offline laughing at Trump’s dancing to YMCA but I have found no meltdowns. To describe the moderate level Lieberman simply states “TDS has taken over their lives.” I’m not a psychiatrist, but I feel like you need a little clearer parameter for diagnosis than this. Sever TDS, is according to the Paternity Court consultant are people such as Rosie O’Donnell and Mary Trump, those who have attempted to assassinate Trump, and those who attack Teslas due to Elon Musk’s connection to Trump. Now she admits she is still working on her designations, but uses Jimmy Kimmel as someone she originally placed at the mild level, but now she thinks she needs to move him up in the designations. Again, I am not a psychiatrist but this all seems very not so scientific.
Walter asks Lieberman if there exists a treatment for TDS and she responds that sufferers need psychotherapy. This therapy would not focus on Trump is a great guy but look at the problems the individual has that make them hate Trump. Here she splits the TDS sufferers into two genders and oddly they sound exactly like far-right assessments of the left and stroke the ego of Trump. According to Lieberman males have TDS because they have low self-esteem and are envious of Trump because he has “all the things an Alpha male should have.” These Alpha male things that Trump has are an Ivy League education, he is successful before and during his presidency, a gorgeous wife, and wonderful family.” Men with low self-esteem that do not have these things, or see no path to getting them, and blame Trump. So, they would be encouraged to go back to school, or whatever they need to do to build their standing in society.
For women, they are simply women who have problems with men. These women interpret Trump as the worst man to be married to because he is an Alpha male. So, the treatment would be getting over their hatred of men. Lieberman uses an odd example when asking these women why they hate Trump, and while the response would be his executive orders, the things he has done, or the political or sociological thing, it’s apparently not about any of that, “it’s their feelings towards him as a man.” If we look into her assessments, basically we are seeing the “manliness” that the far-right is promoting, and the trope that feminists hate men. There is nothing new here, other than Lieberman trying to make scientific denigrating tropes, insults, and promoting “alpha” males.
Here the discussion becomes similar to a manosphere conversation. One of the listeners states that the problem is that society is suffering from a mass psychosis, and some people are so influenced by the media, “and Trump is an extreme Alpha male with no filter.” No I did not miss words in those sentences, this was the actual comment typed in and read by the host. The listener continued, with this bon mot: “too many women think men are their slaves and look down at men knowing the courts and police will protect them.” The host then steps in to claim that 90s television shows denigrated the fathers, but society had pushed men down for a long time “in an attempt to push women up.” So men are victims to women’s equality? This seems like a constructed victimhood. Lieberman states that the feminist movement has became so violent, “they were castrating men” and the “me too movement has alienated men”. In a further pushing of the effeminate beta or omega men on the left the host claims that on the political left women are more masculine than the men.
In a seemingly completely self unaware observation Walter makes an anecdotal observation that her female high school friends who hate Trump are all divorced, and some never got married or are lesbians! Walter states a few times that these “friends” have blocked her because she supports Trump. She believes these TDS women do not like women “who are secure, women who are comfortable with the looks god gave them, women who are comfortable with their marriages.” Not to be judgemental, but her guest has had very obvious plastic surgery on her face, so I wonder if the good Dr. has TDS? The call is coming from inside the house! Lieberman notes that those with TDS have dissatisfaction with their own lives and are projecting it onto Trump.
Walter asks her guest if the hate stems from the Democrat Party and their politicians, then this hate trickles down to the public? Lieberman uses Kamala Harris’ campaign that in her assessment offered no policies and no ideas, just hate of Trump. Lieberman also states that the elections in California are out of control in their fraudulence. She also claims the CA governor’s racism is very bad. Here we are shifting from simply the made up diagnosis of TDS, to supporting conspiracy theories of rigged elections, and odd attacks on Governor Newsom. This accusation of racism stems from Newsom speaking in front of an audience of predominately people of colour, and confessing his dyslexia. Sean Hannity turned this into Newsom insulting the audience’s intellect.
I will admit here the next part of the discussion had me poised in the face palm emoji for quite some time, as I was uttering the word “hypocrisy” over and over again. Lieberman explains that the left are working under the title “Accelerationism.” For her this is evident in that people are getting very angry over minor things to more serious things, and that they just want to tear everything down because they are angry and “they feel entitled.” To be clear she is referring to the political left, not the January 6 insurrectionists, or the attacks on the freedoms and Constitution of America. According to her part of the problem is people are not taking responsibility “there’s no punishment for things.” Anyone else thinking of the pardons Trump has given criminals, or perhaps the Epstein List??? I must add here, that later in the interview Walter states that many people think the events of January 6th on Capitol Hill were a psysop, and Lieberman tells the audience that she contributed to one of the appeals of someone charged for their actions on that day. Further, Lieberman states that Trump was innocent and did not provoke anyone on January 6th with his speech. Again, what about people feeling entitled and not taking responsibility, and there being “no punishment for things?”
Lieberman says the accelerationism will get worse, with the growth of AI because people will see images that are fake on social media and that will accelerate the “crazy.” Walter adds says there are “people who just aren’t that bright.” She thinks “Americans are dumber than they ever used to be. Continuing Walter adds that there is a benefit for certain groups, if “Americans are stupid and easily led.” Common sense stupid” Lieberman blames this on the education system not focusing on the three Rs and “proper US history” because they are teaching “about becoming trans and about sex” and socialism/communism “and why we should hate America.” So, this is openly anti-Trans and anti-sex education, but it also is coded for Critical Race Theory being taught in schools. So, two moral panics, causing harm to large swaths of the American public in one sentence. This is no longer about TDS but seems to be spouting conspiracy theories, hate, racism, and transphobia. Now she starts slowing moving into anti-Islam with a comment that students at university campuses that were protesting for Palestine, even though the cops were called there was no consequences.
When speaking about terrorism, Lieberman seems to be covertly just stating there is only Islamic based terrorism. Her “research” into the field of terrorism began with 9/11 and she states that the goal of terrorism for the last 1000 years is “to take over the west.” So very much coded language of the Great Replacement conspiracy theory. According to her immigration to Europe has left the continent “essentially dead.” She states that some countries in Europe are at the tipping point “to really demolish the culture of all these countries not to mention to bleed them dry financially.” According to her during COVID all these terrorists were actively recruiting. She blames, younger people for being angry at their parents, at being locked down, because they are spending their time playing violent video games (so a return to her unverified claims). Almost in a repeat of history Lieberman claims that there are many studies that show that the more hours of violent video games you play the more aggressive you become. She openly admits she has not done any of the studies. She then brings up the controversy about the link to sexual violence and violent video games.
Shifting topics, Lieberman accuses Iran of being difficult to deal with because they are thinking in religious terms. (I guess the Christian nationalism under Trump is not religious terms?). She then states Obama went to school in terrorist countries and learned some of this mentality making Obama “one of the most terrorist friendly presidents” “I mean history books if there are ever history books that tell the truth are going to look back on this and realize we elected a terrorist. Of course, we did it again with Mamdani.” Here she is renewing the conspiracy theory that President Obama is a Muslim, and she is also attacking the Mayor of New York for his faith. She also states that Obama gave BILLIONS of dollars to Iran, because “you can take the person out of the country, but not the country out of the person.” Perhaps she has not read the cease fire agreement negotiated by Trump’s son-in-law and Vice President Vance?
Throughout the interview conspiracy theories new and old were shared. Accusations and tried and true attacks on the left, members of LGBTQ2SA communities, and Muslims were expressed. Why is this important? Well both these individuals are regulars on Fox News and News Max, they have established reputations within the Trump base. Their coded language spreading hate is not well nuanced but it speaks to those who already believe these “truths.” More importantly, RFK has not publicly stated that he is going to have TDS as a diagnosable mental health issue, but from this interview and the corresponding headlines stating that he is, could trigger a movement towards this goal.
Lieberman argues that the American Psychiatric Association has “become incredibly woke” and that there are very few psychiatrists who agree with her on her TDS assessment. But this is not a new movement. In 2019 a McGill University Associate Professor, in Psychiatry wrote about TDS for Psychology Today.
Shared amongst these is a notion that the everyday activities of President Trump trigger some people into distorted opinions, extreme emotions and hysterical behaviors. Well-known writer Bernard Goldberg gives supposed behavioral examples of TDS among Trump’s political opponents, including fainting, vomiting, students retreating to “safe spaces” and others demanding “therapy dogs.” Political commentator Justin Raimondo focuses on opinions, language and cognition, writing in the LA Times that “sufferers speak a distinctive language consisting of hyperbole [leading to] a constant state of hysteria… the afflicted lose touch with reality.”
He calls for more research into TDS and possible mental health issues. Prior to Trump’s inauguration in 2016, people were also making accusations about mental health and TDS, In 2025 Ohio Representative Warren Davidson introduced The Trump Derangement Syndrome (TDS) Research Act. The bill would direct the National Institutes of Health to study the psychological roots of TDS.
“Trump Derangement Syndrome has become an epidemic on the Left,” said Rep. Moore (R-AL). “Some individuals who suffer from Trump Derangement Syndrome have participated in nationwide political and social unrest, even trying to assassinate President Trump twice. Rep. Davidson’s common-sense bill will use already appropriated funds on an NIH study that can make a difference.”
Now as we have witnessed drastic and harmful changes to the healthcare, vaccinations, scientific research in the United States, coupled with loss of rights for many, the possibility of being officially “diagnosed” with TDS could be another reason to attack those who do not agree with Trump and the GOP. This is something that we should pay attention to.