Fetterman says Democrats are run by Trump derangement syndrome: 'Our party is governed by the TDS'

Senator John Fetterman (D-Pa.) threw gasoline on an already sensitive fire for Democrats and said that his party has no real leadership.

Fetterman is among the few Democrats who support Operation Epic Fury, a joint U.S.-Israeli military operation in Iran that has seen weeks of bombing and conflict.

'I think the TDS — I think that's the leader right now.'

During the episode of the "All-In Podcast" released Wednesday, Fetterman was discussing his popularity among Republican voters when he was asked to identify the leader of the modern Democratic Party.

"Oh, we don't have one," Fetterman told host David Friedberg.

"I think the TDS — I think that's the leader right now," he said, referring to Trump derangement syndrome, which typically refers to an inability to see any positives in what President Trump does.

Fetterman continued, "You know, right now our party is governed by the TDS. And now it's made it virtually impossible, without being punished as a Democrat, to agree something's good or [say] 'I agree with the other side.'"

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The Pennsylvania senator then directly cited his support for the Iranian operation, saying he thinks it is "entirely appropriate" to hold the now-former Iranian regime "accountable."

"What's strange to me [is] that every single Democrat that's run for president and anyone that I know in Congress says we must never allow them to acquire a nuclear bomb. When that happens, why not celebrate that or acknowledge that? ... Like, yeah, you don't have to agree on every single thing, but when a good thing happens, just because it comes from the different party — that tells me that you're choosing the demand of the base or the party over country or what's really, I think, appropriate, in that circumstance."

Fetterman, 56, said that his party has become so inflexible that "you are not allowed" to show solidarity with Israel but that "it's not a big deal if you have a Nazi tattoo on your chest."

The senator was likely referring to Graham Platner, a Democrat Senate candidate from Maine, who allegedly has a Nazi SS tattoo. Platner previously said he did not realize the tattoo resembled a Nazi symbol and that he planned to have it "removed."

"You have people in my party now who are trying to normalize that or to excuse that. I mean, that's kind of where we are," Fetterman added.

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Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

During the interview, Fetterman said he was not sure whether he is more popular with Republicans than Democrats, but suggested that if he is, it is because he does not label "MAGA" enthusiasts with pejoratives.

"They're not Nazis. They're not fascists. They're not trying to destroy our country."

According to Psychology Today, the term "Trump derangement syndrome" originates from late psychiatrist turned political commentator Charles Krauthammer, who is cited for coining the phrase "Bush derangement syndrome" in 2003, in reference to President George W. Bush.

Although Krauthammer was reportedly a harsh critic of Trump, he still defined TDS as a Trump-induced "general hysteria" that produces an "inability to distinguish between legitimate policy differences and signs of psychic pathology" in Trump's behavior.

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