During a debate with political commentator Ryan Girdusky back in May, journalist Michael Tracey described a phenomenon he calls “Trump devotion syndrome.” (As far as I can tell, that term was originally coined by the Christian ethicist Andrew T. Walker, who referenced it in a 2024 piece. It was also used by Bill Maher this past March.)
According to Tracey, those afflicted with the lesser-known TDS “dismiss any critical observation about [Donald] Trump, no matter how substantive, as frivolous or petty—like it’s just about his manner of speech or style.” In essence, individuals suffering from TDS sidestep any substantive critiques of Trump. They accuse those who find fault with their favorite politician of running interference for the political establishment, the deep state, the mainstream media, or some other combination of bad actors. In their minds, Trump is a messianic figure, a prophet sent from on high to destroy the forces of evil who control American politics, industry, media, academia, and culture. As far as they’re concerned, only Donald J. Trump is capable of waging this Manichaean struggle, and those who question any aspect of his agenda are siding with the enemy.
Genuine TDS sufferers (“Trump Devotion Syndrome”) dismiss any critical observation about Trump, no matter how substantive, as frivolous or petty — like it’s just about his manner of speech or style. No: I’m saying that he has no aversion whatsoever to the National Security… https://t.co/RKKG1ANUWi
— Michael Tracey (@mtracey) June 23, 2024
The appeal of such a worldview is understandable. After all, it transforms pro-Trump politics into a form of liturgy, one in which supporters of the president can trust the plan and cede all decision making to The Donald. The result is a sense of complacency and a conviction that Trump can do no wrong. Any critical analysis of Trump is deemed a histrionic “byproduct of reflexive anti-Trump animosities” and can be dismissed out of hand, lest one be compared to an overcaffeinated MSNBC host.
Many of Trump’s most devoted supporters have offered only mild critiques of his foreign policy, if that. Writing for The Free Press, Batya Ungar-Sargon argues that Trump, whom she inexplicably compares to Franklin D. Roosevelt, is “anti-war.” As Tracey notes, it’s difficult to reconcile Trump’s purported non-interventionism with his willingness to “back Israel militarily, politically, and diplomatically.” On January 15, Steve Witkoff, Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East, helped negotiate a temporary ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. Political commentators like Charlie Kirk and Tim Pool quickly credited Team Trump for bringing about a pause to the hostilities. But on March 18, Israel carried out a surprise attack on the Gaza Strip, killing four hundred people and ending the ceasefire. Since then, Trump loyalists who purport to be anti-war have mostly shrugged off the White House’s unconditional support for the Palestinian genocide.
Similarly, Trump’s failure to negotiate a settlement to the war in Ukraine, despite repeatedly promising to end the conflict within twenty-four hours of taking office, qualifies as a major demerit. Putting aside the folly of taking an inveterate fabulist like Trump at his word, the fact of the matter remains that a significant portion of his base voted for him in the hopes that he would draw the fighting to an end. An October 2024 poll conducted by Redfield & Wilton Strategies found that 41% of likely Trump voters wanted the United States to “reconsider” its support for Ukraine, while 26% wanted the U.S. to stop providing support. Nevertheless, Trump has continued arming Ukraine, providing $310 million in “parts, maintenance and training for F-16 fighter jets” in exchange for a stake in the country’s mineral deposits. In April, he told Time magazine that his vows to end the way on his first day in office had been made “in jest.”
The effects of Trump devotion syndrome aren’t limited exclusively to the realm of foreign policy. For example, pro-life activists were instrumental to Trump’s re-election. Yet many of them have ignored his administration’s proposals to expand in vitro fertilization. In May, the White House considered a proposal to require health insurance companies to cover IVF, expand IVF coverage to the fifty million Americans covered by Obamacare, and provide IVF coverage to members of the military. (The Trump administration has since backed away from this scheme.) According to The National Catholic Register, IVF kills nearly twice as many unborn children than abortion does on annual basis. While pro-life figures like Live Action President Lila Rose and Professor Edward Feser denounced an earlier push by Trump to mandate IVF expansion, others, like Frank Pavone, sought to justify his destructive policies.
Two issues have the potential to break the spell that Trump devotion syndrome has cast over the MAGA base. One is American policy towards Iran. In the run-up to the Twelve-Day War, MAGA loyalists like Charlie Kirk, Steve Bannon, and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) voiced opposition to a prospective U.S. war with Iran, framing such a conflict as a boon to the hated neoconservatives whom Trump supposedly routed. But as soon as the United States joined Israel’s war of choice, most of these dissidents lined up behind Trump. Shortly after Operation Midnight Hammer, Charlie Kirk wrote than Iran “decided to forgo diplomacy in pursuit of a bomb” and “gave President Trump no choice” but to attack. In the run-up to the U.S. airstrikes on Iran, Steve Bannon informed his viewers that “the party [was] on.” And while Marjorie Taylor Greene registered her opposition to the attack, she never signed on to the War Powers Resolution sponsored by Thomas Massie in the days leading up to the U.S. strikes.
The other issue is the Trump administration’s handling of the so-called Jeffrey Epstein files. Most of his supporters question the story behind Epstein’s death. They also believe that the late financier had ties to the Israeli Mossad and was running a blackmail operation that targeted public figures. Regardless of where the truth lies, there can be no denying that public frustration with Trump’s shambolic approach to all things Epstein has contributed to his declining poll numbers.
Last month, Newsweek published a list of seven Trump supporters who have criticized his comments on the Epstein scandal, which the president recently described as “bullshit.” Trump continues to insist that the intrigue surrounding Epstein is nothing more than a Democratic Party hoax, analogous to Russiagate or the intelligence community’s lies about the Hunter Biden laptop. But few of the figures cited in the Newsweek piece have fully broken with Trump or questioned why he is so committed to discrediting the Epstein story. If any issue has the potential to permanently fracture Trump’s base, it’s the Epstein files. But at this juncture, it has yet to overpower the seemingly intractable pull of TDS. At best, Trump’s supporters blame the administration’s handling of the case on figures like Pam Bondi, Kash Patel, and Dan Bongino, all while ignoring Trump’s efforts to deflect from the story.
Trump devotion syndrome is a scourge. For too long, the MAGA movement has turned a blind eye to the virus that has transformed Trump’s fanbase into a cult of personality, one with little interest in questioning any of his proposals. Even when his policies run counter to the America First ethos and endanger the lives of the unborn, too many of his most dogged defenders are unwilling to challenge Trump. Instead, they seem content to kick back, drink the Kool-Aid, and watch as their naked emperor drives the train off a cliff.
