Conservative says 'Trump fatigue' is real — and getting to him

Invoking a counterpoint to the idea of "Trump Derangement Syndrome," a conservative pundit writing for The Hill argued that "Trump Fatigue" is a very real thing, which he would know because he has "got it."

Bernard Goldberg is a veteran reporter and pundit, best known for his nearly three-decade tenure at CBS News. While he has occasionally bristled at the label, he has often been described as politically conservative, a description he now largely accepts, while noting that he would not consider himself a right-wing "nut." Over the years, this more moderate stance has meant that he has not been shy about leveling criticism against President Donald Trump, the same as he often has for Democratic leaders.

Writing for The Hill on Friday, Goldberg argued that the growing resentment and pushback towards Trump could not be dismissed summarily as part of a "derangement syndrome," despite his fondness for doing so.

"Not that it matters to President Trump, but a lot of Americans are not fans," Goldberg wrote. "They don’t like his public vulgarity, his narcissism, his appetite for vengeance and a lot more. But that doesn’t necessarily mean they have Trump Derangement Syndrome, the catch-all diagnosis his supporters like to apply to anyone who finds him objectionable."

He continued: "They may have another condition brought on by the president. There’s a good chance they’re suffering from Trump Fatigue. I know the symptoms because I have it. Every day with this president, something new hits the fan. Trump may need a daily dose of chaos, but the rest of us don’t. Chaos and controversy may be his oxygen. They may be what energize him. But after all these years, they’re what wear a lot of us out. And there’s rarely time to digest one controversy before the next one comes barreling down the road and smacks us in the mouth."

Goldberg proceeded to go through a laundry list of scandals and controversies that have engulfed Trump's second term from its very first day, all of which have cumulatively made him an exhausting presence to deal with. This included his pardoning of January 6 rioters, his antagonism towards Canada, his persistent threats to annex Greenland, his renaming of things like the Gulf of Mexico and Lake Ontario, and his refusal to accept his loss in the 2020 election.

"Enough already," Goldberg continued. "And that’s the point about Trump Fatigue. It isn’t the same thing as hating Trump. It isn’t even necessarily about disagreeing with his policies. You can support what he’s doing on the border, or taxes, or regulation, or foreign policy and still wonder why every day has to come with another insult, another provocation, another grandiose idea, another enemy, another controversy."

He added: "Trump Derangement Syndrome is supposed to describe people who can’t stop thinking about Trump. Trump Fatigue describes people who would occasionally like the opportunity to stop thinking about him."