November 24, 2025 • 10 mins
Dr. Ablow explains the psychological roots of Trump Derangement Syndrome (TDS) and offers advice on navigating tricky Thanksgiving conversations with friends or relatives who may display symptoms of TDS.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Get his and access to Mark by setting a pre
set in the iHeartRadio app for his live show and
his podcast.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
Now back to the Mark Simon Show on wo R. Well,
you know this Trump derangement syndrome, it's a very serious thing,
and there was a psychiatrist wrote an op ed piece
of Wall Street Journal saying it's a serious disease. It's so.
Miranda Divine had doctor Keith Ablow on her big, great
(00:28):
podcast and he really had some insight into Trump derangement syndrome.
Doctor Keith Ablow, who's also a great Life Coach, best
selling author. Follow him on Twitter to get his all
of his books, and of course you see him all
over television, doctor Keith Ablow.
Speaker 1 (00:44):
How you doing, I'm doing, Walmart, How are you?
Speaker 2 (00:48):
I'm good, I'm good. So yeah, Miranda Divine was on
the show. She was telling us about I mean, you experts,
you know, we think Trump arrangement syndrome's kind of a
funny name, but you found it's a mental disorder, isn't it.
Speaker 1 (01:03):
Well, listen, you know this is a common, common thing
that's afflicting people. We're not going to find it in
a diagnostic manual, but I'll tell you people who object
to autonomy and are not grounded in the self. You know,
the self's a miracle, it's connected to God, it's where
(01:24):
we operate most powerfully from. It's the center of human beings.
If that is, for whatever reason, really frightening to you,
then Donald Trump's going to be really frightening to you,
and you're subject to Trump's arrangement syndrome.
Speaker 2 (01:40):
Yeah. Now, the politics, you know, they hated Bush, they
hated Cheney, they hated Nixon. But with Trump it sets
them off. He sets them off in a way I've
never seen anybody. What is it in his personality that
makes them crazy?
Speaker 1 (01:55):
Yeah, I think you're absolutely right. He is number one.
There's no confusion whatsoever about his gender. He's hyper male.
He's type of right. And this offends some people. They
don't even know that offense un necessarily, but they're unconsciously
deeply offended. That he has masculinity in every mannerism right.
(02:21):
So that's one one aspect of it, for sure. Another
is I'm sorry, you're right.
Speaker 2 (02:27):
It's like nineteen fifties, really tough masculinity. We haven't seen
that in a president in years. So that's a good point.
What's the other one.
Speaker 1 (02:37):
It's like John Wayne is holding you know, office, and
people don't know what to do about it. The other
thing is that he is not in any way ambivalent
about things. He expresses things very definitively. If you waffle,
if you want to play both sides in the middle,
(02:58):
then this is going to make you very nervous and
you're going to take it out on Donald Trump because
he adds up to numbers, and then in a very
direct way, he'll say, look, here's how it looks arithmetically.
You don't have the leverage you think you do. I
just did all of the variable analysis. Here's your choices. Now.
(03:23):
That would appeal to people who love logic and who
really like honesty, but it doesn't appeal to people who
want nothing to have reality. And right now Donald Trump
is on the side of reality, truth, honesty, and people
who would like to be an avatar of themselves, to
(03:46):
be anything to anyone. And to assert that countries don't
need borders. I mean, listen, almost half the electric or
whatever thinks maybe countries don't have to have borders. That's
like delusional, and Donald Trump in that way will tell you, well,
that's craziness. They will therefore hate him, fear him, and
(04:08):
be subject to Trump derangement syndrome.
Speaker 2 (04:11):
So if Donald Trump came to you and said, show
me what to do to be more likable, would you
show him or would you say, hey, just be yourself.
Speaker 1 (04:19):
I would say, you've got to be yourself. In a
lot of ways, the antidote to Trump derangement syndrome is
more exposure to truth and to trumpisms. However, I would say, listen,
you might throw in even additional humor to tell people
it's okay, as he's done recently. He said, listen, you
(04:41):
can call me a fascist if you want to have
been called worse. So if he's able to tell people, listen,
here's what's happening. I know. I know that, the fact
that I'm quite definitive, the fact that you know, people
call me, you know, hyper meal, I know this offense
some people. It's okay, We're going to get there together.
(05:02):
I suppose you could do that in Olive Branch. But
really I wouldn't change Donald Trump, and I would advise
him keep going, man, this is what we need.
Speaker 2 (05:11):
Yeah, all right now, doctor Keith Ablow. People are going
to Thanksgiving dinner, they're going to probably get in a
fight with relatives that have Trump de arrangement syndrome. What
can they do to deal with it? Or should they
just humor them? What should they do.
Speaker 1 (05:25):
Just humor them? One of the things about Trump derangement
syndrome is it's very rigid. You know, if people don't
come to my office, they may not get over it.
Speaker 2 (05:36):
Right.
Speaker 1 (05:36):
So I would say, you sidestep it, you smile, You
ask them more questions, let them talk, and don't interrupt,
don't insert your own opinions, because you know what, you're
not going to convert anybody at Thanksgiving and what you
want is peace, And so you can't. In some ways
you just can't engage. So you dodge, you weave, You
(05:59):
talk about others subjects. If people insist on talking about that,
ask them more questions about what they think, rather than,
you know, boldly saying you're so completely faced you're delusional.
That's not going to work with the stuffing.
Speaker 2 (06:16):
Yeah, did you see this? Psychiatrist wrote the op ed
for the Wall Street Journal last week about Trump derangement syndrome.
It's an actual mental disorder, and he seemed to take
it very very seriously. On the chart of mental disorders.
Speaker 1 (06:32):
Yeah, I saw that, and listen, I think what it
is is, it's a subset. It's basically that, you know,
those who want to be cared for as though they
have a parent in the state, those who don't really
want to assert their individual and individuality and autonomy, and
(06:56):
who would like there to be no reality about the world.
They are that group that are subject to Trump derangement
syndrome and right. And so the bottom line is is
it a clinical condition. We wouldn't medicate it. We wouldn't,
you know, and I wouldn't coach anyone out of it
(07:16):
without a lot of time in my office. But the
bottom line is that people should reflect who are subject
to that. Is it possible? But because I'm not feeling
empowered myself, that looking at someone that powerful and certain
is deeply offensive to me.
Speaker 2 (07:36):
Huh. Now, what else Miranda said has to do with
daddy issues? Is that? Is that true?
Speaker 1 (07:43):
Well, that masculinity quotient is so high in Trump that
if you have ambivalence about that role and your family,
the you know, if you have deep questions about who
you're otherwise or what you thought of it, or or
your own masculinity you may well be more vulnerable Trump's
(08:08):
arrangement syndrome, because here's a big mac eating guy who
is nonetheless a healthy man, a strapping fellow, even you know,
past his sixties, And that too causes people consternation. They're like,
(08:28):
how can he not be eating carrots and other vegetables
to show us how healthy that is and still be pulling,
you know, near all nighters. So it deeply, deeply concerns
people who want to feel somewhat vulnerable and therefore as
though the state should take care of them, and who
(08:51):
might vote for, you know, government officials who say, don't worry,
we'll control everything. You don't need to have any power.
Donald Trum says, no, No, you should have autonomy. Start
being yourself, be grounded as an individual, make your own choices.
These things cause people a lot of anxiety.
Speaker 2 (09:09):
It's also the key to a good life. Yeah, well, hey,
great stuff. We're out of time. Hey, next time I
gotta ask you. You treated Hunter Biden for a while.
Speaker 1 (09:20):
I think you mightn't be true that was reported in
the news.
Speaker 2 (09:22):
Yes, I think you might need some more sessions. Yeah,
you're made.
Speaker 1 (09:27):
Out of complete the same address.
Speaker 2 (09:31):
Well, great stuff, doctor Keith Ablow. You can get his
books on Amazon. And if people want to contact you,
what's the best way.
Speaker 1 (09:38):
Best way is info at Keithablow dot com or just
visit Keithablow dot com and there's a link you can
get right to me.
Speaker 2 (09:45):
Check out his website Keithablow dot com, Doctor Keithablow. Great stuff,
thanks for being with us. Thanks Mark, all right, take care.
Interesting stuff. So now remember Thanksgiving dinner. Don't get into
a big fight with everybody. Just and yes, I'm to
death and change the subject. Hey, don't forget Buck and
Clay at noon today with an excellent show. And then
(10:07):
you got the most listened to radio show in America,
Sean Hannity at three, Jesse Kelly at six, and Jimmy
Fayla what a great show every night at nine Here
on seven ten wor
Get his and access to Mark by setting a pre
set in the iHeartRadio app for his live show and
his podcast.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
Now back to the Mark Simon Show on wo R. Well,
you know this Trump derangement syndrome, it's a very serious thing,
and there was a psychiatrist wrote an op ed piece
of Wall Street Journal saying it's a serious disease. It's so.
Miranda Divine had doctor Keith Ablow on her big, great
(00:28):
podcast and he really had some insight into Trump derangement syndrome.
Doctor Keith Ablow, who's also a great Life Coach, best
selling author. Follow him on Twitter to get his all
of his books, and of course you see him all
over television, doctor Keith Ablow.
Speaker 1 (00:44):
How you doing, I'm doing, Walmart, How are you?
Speaker 2 (00:48):
I'm good, I'm good. So yeah, Miranda Divine was on
the show. She was telling us about I mean, you experts,
you know, we think Trump arrangement syndrome's kind of a
funny name, but you found it's a mental disorder, isn't it.
Speaker 1 (01:03):
Well, listen, you know this is a common, common thing
that's afflicting people. We're not going to find it in
a diagnostic manual, but I'll tell you people who object
to autonomy and are not grounded in the self. You know,
the self's a miracle, it's connected to God, it's where
(01:24):
we operate most powerfully from. It's the center of human beings.
If that is, for whatever reason, really frightening to you,
then Donald Trump's going to be really frightening to you,
and you're subject to Trump's arrangement syndrome.
Speaker 2 (01:40):
Yeah. Now, the politics, you know, they hated Bush, they
hated Cheney, they hated Nixon. But with Trump it sets
them off. He sets them off in a way I've
never seen anybody. What is it in his personality that
makes them crazy?
Speaker 1 (01:55):
Yeah, I think you're absolutely right. He is number one.
There's no confusion whatsoever about his gender. He's hyper male.
He's type of right. And this offends some people. They
don't even know that offense un necessarily, but they're unconsciously
deeply offended. That he has masculinity in every mannerism right.
(02:21):
So that's one one aspect of it, for sure. Another
is I'm sorry, you're right.
Speaker 2 (02:27):
It's like nineteen fifties, really tough masculinity. We haven't seen
that in a president in years. So that's a good point.
What's the other one.
Speaker 1 (02:37):
It's like John Wayne is holding you know, office, and
people don't know what to do about it. The other
thing is that he is not in any way ambivalent
about things. He expresses things very definitively. If you waffle,
if you want to play both sides in the middle,
(02:58):
then this is going to make you very nervous and
you're going to take it out on Donald Trump because
he adds up to numbers, and then in a very
direct way, he'll say, look, here's how it looks arithmetically.
You don't have the leverage you think you do. I
just did all of the variable analysis. Here's your choices. Now.
(03:23):
That would appeal to people who love logic and who
really like honesty, but it doesn't appeal to people who
want nothing to have reality. And right now Donald Trump
is on the side of reality, truth, honesty, and people
who would like to be an avatar of themselves, to
(03:46):
be anything to anyone. And to assert that countries don't
need borders. I mean, listen, almost half the electric or
whatever thinks maybe countries don't have to have borders. That's
like delusional, and Donald Trump in that way will tell you, well,
that's craziness. They will therefore hate him, fear him, and
(04:08):
be subject to Trump derangement syndrome.
Speaker 2 (04:11):
So if Donald Trump came to you and said, show
me what to do to be more likable, would you
show him or would you say, hey, just be yourself.
Speaker 1 (04:19):
I would say, you've got to be yourself. In a
lot of ways, the antidote to Trump derangement syndrome is
more exposure to truth and to trumpisms. However, I would say, listen,
you might throw in even additional humor to tell people
it's okay, as he's done recently. He said, listen, you
(04:41):
can call me a fascist if you want to have
been called worse. So if he's able to tell people, listen,
here's what's happening. I know. I know that, the fact
that I'm quite definitive, the fact that you know, people
call me, you know, hyper meal, I know this offense
some people. It's okay, We're going to get there together.
(05:02):
I suppose you could do that in Olive Branch. But
really I wouldn't change Donald Trump, and I would advise
him keep going, man, this is what we need.
Speaker 2 (05:11):
Yeah, all right now, doctor Keith Ablow. People are going
to Thanksgiving dinner, they're going to probably get in a
fight with relatives that have Trump de arrangement syndrome. What
can they do to deal with it? Or should they
just humor them? What should they do.
Speaker 1 (05:25):
Just humor them? One of the things about Trump derangement
syndrome is it's very rigid. You know, if people don't
come to my office, they may not get over it.
Speaker 2 (05:36):
Right.
Speaker 1 (05:36):
So I would say, you sidestep it, you smile, You
ask them more questions, let them talk, and don't interrupt,
don't insert your own opinions, because you know what, you're
not going to convert anybody at Thanksgiving and what you
want is peace, And so you can't. In some ways
you just can't engage. So you dodge, you weave, You
(05:59):
talk about others subjects. If people insist on talking about that,
ask them more questions about what they think, rather than,
you know, boldly saying you're so completely faced you're delusional.
That's not going to work with the stuffing.
Speaker 2 (06:16):
Yeah, did you see this? Psychiatrist wrote the op ed
for the Wall Street Journal last week about Trump derangement syndrome.
It's an actual mental disorder, and he seemed to take
it very very seriously. On the chart of mental disorders.
Speaker 1 (06:32):
Yeah, I saw that, and listen, I think what it
is is, it's a subset. It's basically that, you know,
those who want to be cared for as though they
have a parent in the state, those who don't really
want to assert their individual and individuality and autonomy, and
(06:56):
who would like there to be no reality about the world.
They are that group that are subject to Trump derangement
syndrome and right. And so the bottom line is is
it a clinical condition. We wouldn't medicate it. We wouldn't,
you know, and I wouldn't coach anyone out of it
(07:16):
without a lot of time in my office. But the
bottom line is that people should reflect who are subject
to that. Is it possible? But because I'm not feeling
empowered myself, that looking at someone that powerful and certain
is deeply offensive to me.
Speaker 2 (07:36):
Huh. Now, what else Miranda said has to do with
daddy issues? Is that? Is that true?
Speaker 1 (07:43):
Well, that masculinity quotient is so high in Trump that
if you have ambivalence about that role and your family,
the you know, if you have deep questions about who
you're otherwise or what you thought of it, or or
your own masculinity you may well be more vulnerable Trump's
(08:08):
arrangement syndrome, because here's a big mac eating guy who
is nonetheless a healthy man, a strapping fellow, even you know,
past his sixties, And that too causes people consternation. They're like,
(08:28):
how can he not be eating carrots and other vegetables
to show us how healthy that is and still be pulling,
you know, near all nighters. So it deeply, deeply concerns
people who want to feel somewhat vulnerable and therefore as
though the state should take care of them, and who
(08:51):
might vote for, you know, government officials who say, don't worry,
we'll control everything. You don't need to have any power.
Donald Trum says, no, No, you should have autonomy. Start
being yourself, be grounded as an individual, make your own choices.
These things cause people a lot of anxiety.
Speaker 2 (09:09):
It's also the key to a good life. Yeah, well, hey,
great stuff. We're out of time. Hey, next time I
gotta ask you. You treated Hunter Biden for a while.
Speaker 1 (09:20):
I think you mightn't be true that was reported in
the news.
Speaker 2 (09:22):
Yes, I think you might need some more sessions. Yeah,
you're made.
Speaker 1 (09:27):
Out of complete the same address.
Speaker 2 (09:31):
Well, great stuff, doctor Keith Ablow. You can get his
books on Amazon. And if people want to contact you,
what's the best way.
Speaker 1 (09:38):
Best way is info at Keithablow dot com or just
visit Keithablow dot com and there's a link you can
get right to me.
Speaker 2 (09:45):
Check out his website Keithablow dot com, Doctor Keithablow. Great stuff,
thanks for being with us. Thanks Mark, all right, take care.
Interesting stuff. So now remember Thanksgiving dinner. Don't get into
a big fight with everybody. Just and yes, I'm to
death and change the subject. Hey, don't forget Buck and
Clay at noon today with an excellent show. And then
(10:07):
you got the most listened to radio show in America,
Sean Hannity at three, Jesse Kelly at six, and Jimmy
Fayla what a great show every night at nine Here
on seven ten wor
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