Politics

Late Night Host Tells MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough That Any ‘Reasonable Person’ Has ‘Trump Derangement Syndrome’

Former President Donald Trump speaking at a rally in Atlanta, Ga., Oct. 15, 2024.

Late night host Jimmy Kimmel told MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough Wednesday that any “reasonable person” should have “Trump Derangement Syndrome.”

Kimmel said that many people accuse him of having “Trump Derangement Syndrome,” a pejorative term referring to irrational viewpoints and beliefs about Republican nominee Donald Trump. The late night host said all people should have these viewpoints because Trump “is a dangerous person” who is “running to stay out of prison.”

“I’m an optimistic person, I am not hysterical, I laugh when people say ‘oh, you have Trump Derangement Syndrome.’ You know what? If you’re a reasonable person, you should have Trump Derangement Syndrome,” Kimmel said. “And by the way, I think he has derangement syndrome about us, too. The fact of the matter is this is a dangerous person, this is a stupid person, and that’s a bad combination.”

“And I think what we keep forgetting, I keep forgetting it and I have to keep reminding myself, Donald Trump is running for president to stay out of prison. And that’s a pretty powerful thing. He is literally running for his freedom,” Kimmel said.

Scarborough alleged that Trump wants to arrest his political opponents, leading Kimmel to criticize the former president for calling on CBS News to have its license revoked for editing Vice President Kamala Harris’ answer about Israel and Hamas during her “60 Minutes” interview with Bill Whitaker. Kimmel said he is “concerned” that Trump will “come after” his opponents such as himself.

Prominent liberals in the media have repeatedly warned without evidence that Trump is a “threat to democracy” and will become a dictator if reelected. Former Democratic Missouri Sen. and MSNBC contributor Claire McCaskill suggested without evidence that Trump is “even more dangerous” than former fascist dictator Adolf Hitler in November, while Political commentator Charlie Sykes baselessly warned that Trump will build concentration camps in his potential second term.

Many Trump critics, including former Republican Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney and HBO comedian Bill Maher, have warned that Trump will never leave office and become a dictator if he is reelected. The former president said in September that he will not run again if he loses in the 2024 election.