Dr. Mehmet Oz dismissed Americans who oppose or disapprove of President Donald Trump or his administration as “stupid” and “lost” on Tuesday as he concluded a raucous turn at the White House briefing room lectern while Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt continues her maternity leave.
Trump’s Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services administrator was nearing the end of a nearly half-hour-long appearance before the White House press corps when Lindell TV personality Cara Castronuova chimed in to ask the ex-heart surgeon if he had “medical advice” for Americans with “Trump Derangement Syndrome.”
The ex-heart surgeon replied that he was “concerned” about those who’ve “focused their entire life’s energy” on the president and said it was “disheartening to see people lost that way.”
“But you know, treating stupid is really hard — and it becomes a real problem,” he added.
Oz’s snarky attack on what most polls show to be a majority of Americans was prompted by Castronuova’s invocation of the fake condition coined by MAGA-aligned media figures to malign anyone who takes issue with the Trump administration’s policies or the president’s conduct.
The term “Trump Derangement Syndrome” is an adaptation of a similar dig at Democrats, “Bush Derangement Syndrome,” which was coined by conservative columnist Charles Krauthammer during the George W. Bush administration in 2003.
Krauthammer, who was a Harvard University-trained psychiatrist before embarking on a second career as a political commentator in the early 1980s, had defined the fake medical condition as “the acute onset of paranoia in otherwise normal people in reaction to the policies, the presidency — nay — the very existence of George W. Bush.”
Two decades later, the “TDS” line has been frequently deployed against Democrats — or anyone who isn’t in lockstep with Trump’s political positions — as a way of delegitimizing and denigrating that opposition by intimating that Trump’s opponents are incapable of rational political discussions.
Oz’s insult against Americans who disapprove of Trump or support the opposing political party came after he repeatedly declined to defend President Trump’s decision to elevate Federal Housing Finance Administration head Bill Pulte to lead the Office of Director of National Intelligence on an acting basis.
When the former heart specialist was asked to defend Pulte’s qualifications, he demurred, telling reporters such a query was “out of [his] lane” while voicing support for the appointment.
“I think Bill is a great guy. I know him socially. I’ve not worked with him in his current job, and, but I do trust the president’s judgment. He is a very sharp and quick study of people, their emotional with abilities, and their ability to persevere in the face of hardship. So, I have confidence in his decision,” he said.
Trump had announced the decision earlier in the day, citing Pulte’s supposed “deep experience managing the most sensitive matters in America, the safety and soundness of the Markets,” seemingly ignoring a provision in the post-9/11 law that created the office which requires the DNI to have extensive national security experience.
Pulte, a newcomer to government whose grandfather founded one of the country’s largest homebuilders, has used his access to federal housing records in his current job to enable attacks on multiple prominent Democrats by baselessly accusing them of mortgage fraud.
The 38-year-old official’s targets have included New York Attorney General Letitia James, Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., and Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook.
But what he lacks in experience he makes up with loyalty to Trump — and proximity. He is a frequent traveler aboard Air Force One and can often be found on weekends at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club.
