Psychotherapist says ‘Trump Derangement Syndrome’ is real, affecting 75% of his patients

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: Manhattan-based psychotherapist Jonathan Alpert is igniting fierce debate after claiming that what many jokingly call “Trump Derangement Syndrome” is, in his view, a genuine and widespread psychological pattern.

Speaking on Fox News on Friday, Alpert said that nearly three-quarters of his current patients exhibit intense mental distress tied specifically to President Donald Trump and that the issue has become “the defining pathology of our time.”

Therapist says patients show obsession and anxiety centered on Donald Trump

Alpert made the comments on 'The Faulkner Focus', telling host Harris Faulkner that the symptoms he sees consistently go far beyond casual political dislike. “This is a profound pathology, and I would even go so far to call it the defining pathology of our time,” he said.

He explained that many patients arrive at his office showing clear signs of fixation on Trump. “People are obsessed with Trump, they’re fixated, they’re hyper-fixated on Trump,” he said, adding that it takes “probably five minutes” for their feelings about the president to surface.

According to Alpert, the symptoms frequently resemble those associated with clinical anxiety disorders or obsessive-compulsive tendencies. “They can’t sleep, they feel traumatized by Mr Trump, they feel restless,” he said.

One example stuck with him: “I had one patient who said she couldn’t enjoy a vacation because anytime she saw Trump in the news or on her device, she felt triggered.”

Jonathan Alpert expands on ‘obsessive political preoccupation’ in WSJ column

The psychotherapist expanded his argument in a Wall Street Journal opinion piece published Wednesday. There, he described what he calls an “obsessive political preoccupation,” which he says aligns closely with known mental health patterns: “Clinically, the presentation aligns with anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorders: persistent intrusive thoughts, emotional dysregulation and impaired functioning.”

He added that patients report “sleepless nights, compulsive news checking and physical agitation,” often centered on “persistent intrusive thoughts” about Trump.

“Call it ‘obsessive political preoccupation’, an obsessive-compulsive spectrum presentation in which a political figure becomes the focal point for intrusive thoughts, heightened arousal and compulsive monitoring,” he said.

Alpert admitted that he initially dismissed the phenomenon as a purely ideological reaction from people who disliked Trump. But over time, he said the symptoms “took on a more clinical shape.”

“What once looked like outrage now presents as a fixation that distorts perception and consumes attention,” he wrote.

Three-quarters of patients reporting symptoms, Jonathan Alpert claims

In his Fox News appearance, Alpert reiterated the scale of what he believes he’s witnessing. “Three-quarters of my patients will present with a lot of these symptoms,” he said. “If you’re that hyper-focused on Trump, that’s a real issue.”

He emphasized that simply fearing or disliking a political figure isn’t inherently pathological, but when a single person becomes a source of intrusive thoughts, emotional disruption, and lifestyle impairment, that’s when it crosses the line into something more severe.

“And Trump is the trigger for many of these people,” he said. “To be that fixated on a figure, on a person, it’s simply not healthy.”

Term remains controversial as Donald Trump supporters amplify it

“Trump Derangement Syndrome” has long been a favored phrase among Trump supporters to mock critics, while opponents argue the term dismisses legitimate political concerns.

Trump himself has repeatedly accused Democrats and journalists of suffering from TDS.