U.S. Rep. Warren Davidson, a MAGA loyalist from Troy, Ohio, has a new mission for the National Institutes of Health (NIH), a federal agency hit hard by the Trump administration with layoffs of personnel, a proposed 40% budget cut, and the termination of research grants for everything from global health to cancer research.
Davidson wants NIH to spend its limited resources on what he calls the “Trump Derangement Syndrome (TDS) Research Act of 2025.”
It would, Davidson said in a news release last week, “study the psychological and social roots of what is known as Trump Derangement Syndrome, a phenomenon marked by extreme negative reactions to President Donald J. Trump.”
When we first saw this press release, it wasn’t entirely clear whether Davidson was serious about this or just trolling folks opposed to Trump and his actions in the White House. So, we asked his chief of staff to arrange an interview.
Chief of Staff Connor White declined the request for an interview; and said the press release speaks for itself.
So, here’s what Davidson said in the release:
“TDS has divided families, the country, and led to nationwide violence, including two assassination attempts on President Trump,” said Davidson, whose western Ohio district includes part of Hamilton County.
“The TDS Research Act would require the NIH to study this toxic state of mind, so we can understand the root cause and identify solutions,” Davidson wrote. “Instead of funding ludicrous studies such as giving methamphetamine to cats or teaching monkeys to gamble for their drinking water, the NIH should use that funding to research issues that are relevant to the real world.”
More relevant to the “real world” than cancer research?
Ohio poll shows Trump's approval slipping
Trump’s second term policies are proving to be very unpopular. His approval rating is tanking; and millions of Americans have taken to the streets to protest the Trump administration. If that’s “derangement,” there’s a whole lot of “deranged” Americans out there.
A Bowling Green State University poll of Ohio voters conducted in April showed, for the first time, Trump’s approval rating as slightly under water; and that his tariff policies are very unpopular with Ohioans. That’s a significant finding in a state that Trump won by 11 percentage points just last November.
Former Ohio Democratic Party chairman David Pepper saw Davidson’s press release and thought it was par for the course considering the source.
“It makes sense if you watch Warren Davidson very much,’’ Pepper said. “He’s kind of way off on his own.
“He’s lived in a heavily gerrymandered district ever since he entered Congress; and has never been very much in touch with the people he represents,’’ Pepper said.
From Darke County in the north to western Hamilton County in the south, Davidson’s 8th Congressional District is one of the most heavily Republican in the state. Like his fellow MAGA congressman Jim Jordan, from Champaign County, he doesn’t have to worry about re-election. He is routinely re-elected with more than 60% of the vote.
“Even in a heavily Democratic city like Cincinnati, Democrats on City Council have to work to be re-elected,’ Pepper said. “They have more experience with direct democracy than Warren Davidson will ever have.”
Pepper said calling for an NIH investigation of “Trump Derangement Syndrome” scores Davidson points with his fellow MAGA ideologues, but does nothing for his constituents.
“They’re worried about the cost of living, the effect tariffs will have on their finances, how they will put their kids through college,’’ Pepper said. “There is nothing at all deranged about that.”
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