WASHINGTON, D.C. — What began as disbelief on election night 2024 has now spiraled into a full-blown mental health crisis, as medical professionals confirm dozens of high-profile reporters have been diagnosed with Donald Trump Fatigue Syndrome. It’s a form of PTSD that therapists are describing as media meltdown.
Doctors say the condition set in after newsrooms confidently predicted Kamala Harris would “easily” win, only to watch anchors spend the next three months insisting math itself was broken. By the 2025 inauguration, symptoms had firmly taken hold. It was impossible to imagine that, after being convicted of multiple felonies, Donald Trump would find a way to claw himself back into the Oval Office. Their beliefs were shattered on November 5, 2024, and the truth finally sank in shortly after January 20, 2025.
Arlene Battishill was so full of joy. That is genuine joy in her laugh. She was staring at the future and saw the first woman president. She was so sure that she made a video of it and talked about her encounter with a liquor store clerk. She bought champagne and was so ready to pop the cork. She’s not a news personality but a political analyst who held the very strong belief that the voters had spoken and chose Kamala Harris.
Can you imagine holding onto a belief so strongly that your heart literally breaks when you find out it’s not true? That’s what’s happening here. These news personalities are being deeply affected by having to say “Donald Trump” over and over throughout the day in every news cycle, despite not wanting to ever say his name again. They thought they were done. They were relieved during the Biden administration and were even uplifted on May 30, 2024, when he was found guilty of 34 charges.
Reporters describe the condition as “soul-eroding,” with some anchors confessing they’ve developed a physical twitch every time they have to say his name. One MSNBC host reportedly lost the ability to pronounce any other proper noun, accidentally introducing her own mother as “Donald Trump.”
“Many of them can’t even look at a teleprompter without cringing,” explained Dr. Carla Mendez, who runs a recovery clinic for afflicted journalists. “We’ve had patients wake up in cold sweats yelling ‘sources close to the matter’ or break down crying during broadcasts because they have to cover another Trump story.”
Untreated, the syndrome can escalate into extreme behaviors, including snapping in the middle of a grocery store at a cantaloupe or screaming at the grass for being in their yard. One incident that was reported was of a burned-out news reporter who lodged a complaint against a cloud for hovering suspiciously. Another reporter was found standing in front of an automatic door shouting, “Stop gaslighting me!” When a journalist was found fact-checking the lyrics of the latest Billie Eilish song, her friends knew she needed immediate help.
Broadcast studios have begun installing recovery rooms where anchors can sit quietly between segments, whispering neutral phrases like “in other news” or “back to you” until their pulse returns to normal. Some stations are even experimenting with therapy dogs trained to bark every time the word Trump is uttered, to help desensitize staff. Meanwhile, CBS has started piping whale sounds into the control room, claiming it lowers the frequency of involuntary sobbing.
“This is not just burnout,” warned Dr. Mendez. “This is an entire industry realizing they may have to say his name, every day, for the rest of their careers. And that does things to a human brain.”
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