When the term “Trump Derangement Syndrome” was coined, the words carried a hint of gallows humor.
But as time passed and insane behavior by the president’s opponents became widely embedded in key people and institutions, any whiff of humor faded into history.
Especially during a time of war with a deadly, fanatical enemy, an irrational hatred of our commander in chief by powerful Americans is not a laughing matter.
All the more so when the infected include the top Democrat in Washington and the editors of America’s largest newspaper.
Revealing scenarios in recent days that involve Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and The New York Times illustrate how hatred of the president has distorted their judgments and undercut their patriotism.
Schumer’s dive into the gutter took place on MS NOW, where host Joe Scarborough, hardly a Trump fanboy, grew frustrated as Schumer repeatedly refused to give a direct answer to a direct question:
“Is it a good thing that Iran . . . the epicenter of terrorism in the world since 1979, is it good that their military infrastructure is being degraded to the degree that it is? Yes or no?”
Schumer wouldn’t engage, saying “it’s a premature question. What’s going to happen in the next several months?”
Scarborough saw through the smokescreen. “No, no, I can ask that question. I’m simply asking on the military side, is it good? Regardless of whether we agree with going in or not, is it good that Iran’s military infrastructure has been seriously —.”
Schumer: “Again, I have to tell you, Joe, first, you can’t. What’s going to happen three months from now? Is it worth it? What’s going to happen? Will the world economy collapse? Will something happen even worse? Will the whole energy infrastructure of the world go up in smoke?”
Frustrated by Schumer’s attempt to run out the clock with a parade of horribles, Scarborough invoked common sense by supplying the obvious answer Schumer refused to give.
“Let me answer the question for everybody in America,” the host said.
“The answer is ‘yes,’ it’s good that the terrorist regime and their military capabilities have been degraded radically.”
Bingo!
Left unsaid was that Schumer is so frightened of his party’s far left wing that he will never say anything positive about Trump — even when the president strengthens America’s national security.
Burying the mislead
Already facing calls to give up his leadership position, Schumer also has to worry about a primary from AOC or another radical when his term ends in two years.
He turns 76 in November, so it’s possible he won’t run again.
But in the meantime, he is willing to put party first and play the fool on television.
A similar but even stranger example of TDS played out on the front page of Tuesday’s New York Times.
In this case, the Gray Lady got so twisted, she ended up arguing with herself.
Part of the main headline on page one of the print edition said Trump’s claim that the US and Iran were engaged in serious negotiations was met with “Denials From Iran.”
But after the story reported that the president paused his threat to attack Iranian power plants to allow time for negotiations, it cited Trump as saying that his envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, “were leading the talks.”
At that point the story said Iran “publicly denied” negotiations were taking place and added that the speaker of the Iranian parliament called Trump’s claim “fake news.”
Then, with no warning, the next paragraph contradicted nearly everything the story had said about Iran until that point.
The weird reversal began with, “according to four Iranian officials and an Iranian diplomat,” the two countries “have been exchanging messages through intermediaries about de-escalating the conflict.”
Lest readers get the idea that Trump was right in his claim about negotiations, the Times got technical by peevishly declaring that the exchanges “appeared to be short of negotiations.”
In another switch, it added that three Iranian officials said Witkoff had been talking to Iran’s foreign minister in what the sources, presumably including Witkoff, “described as preliminary discussions.”
In plain and honest English, the paper had sources from both sides giving clear confirmations of Trump’s original claim of ongoing talks.
So why did the Times feel the need to knock down that claim in the headline when it had sufficient evidence all along that showed the president was telling the truth?
A first-year cub reporter would know enough to start the story with confirmation from Trump, five Iranian sources, and Witkoff as well, that talks between the two nations were indeed taking place.
The talks are real news, but to do the right thing would mean the Times would be crediting Trump with telling the truth and that he really was working hard to de-escalate.
But, as with Schumer and so many others, the truth is verboten at the Times when it could make Trump look good.
Even late Tuesday afternoon, the paper’s digital home page carried a headline saying Trump Asserts Iran Wants to “Make a Deal” and, in a smaller typeface, that “Iran maintains publicly that no negotiations are taking place.”
Again it withheld from readers the information gathered by its own reporters that put the lie to Iran’s public denial.
A dangerous ‘faux’
The mind-boggling episode is a clear example of how TDS eats away at the integrity of its hosts.
The Times would rather mislead readers and make Trump look bad than highlight its own finding if it would make him look good.
Unfortunately, the severe cases of TDS exhibited by Schumer and the Times are not isolated, nor are they harmless.
Iran remains a very dangerous foe, as its continuing barrage of missiles against Israel and our Arab allies demonstrates.
A surprising incident last Friday underscored the regime’s deadly capability and evil intent.
It fired a missile at a military base shared by the US and the UK in the Indian Ocean, some 2,000 miles from the Iranian coast.
Two intermediate-range ballistic missiles were fired at Diego Garcia, a US official told CNN, adding that neither struck the base.
Still, the effort caught military officials and analysts off guard because they did not know Iran had missiles that could travel that far.
They noted that the distance to Diego Garcia from Iran is about the same as the distance to London or Paris.
The significance, according to The Wall Street Journal, is that “Tehran has created a new security reality for Europe and parts of the Pacific.”
But don’t bother trying to get Schumer and the Times to admit that Iran is a threat to America and Europe.
When you are in the grip of TDS, facts are not important.
All that matters is whether a situation can be twisted enough to make Trump look bad.
The post Michael Goodwin: Trump Derangement Syndrome continues to fuel the left’s dangerous and misleading agenda appeared first on New York Post.
