Trump Derangement Syndrome doesnt take a single day off.

Yes, the phenomenon that has driven some critics of President Trump insane in their hatred for the leader manifested itself even on Christmas this year, which should really be an apolitical day and time of truce if there ever was one. But a few sad columnists in the liberal media just couldnt let the holiday pass without attempting to weaponize it to attack Trump and Republicans.

For instance, New York Times columnist Paul Krugman penned a Christmas-themed column, promoted on the papers homepage on Christmas morning, titled The Cruelty of a Trump Christmas, with the subhead reading Republicans arent Scrooges theyre much worse. Krugman, who once won a Nobel Prize in economics, has, of course, long ago gone off the rails. I suppose that while its sad to see him pen such an unhinged holiday column, its not exactly surprising. This, after all, is the same man who blamed Sarah Palin for the shooting of a Democratic congresswoman and called Republicans enablers of terrorism.

But it wasnt just Krugman.

Washington Post columnist Dana Milbank dubbed the holiday A Trump Christmas, with ill will to all, blaming the president for the (admittedly awful and uncalled for) abuse Milbank has been subjected to by some Trump supporters online. This alone isnt reasonable. But Milbank went on to call Trump a president who exults in violence, name-calling and human misery. Yes, in a holiday column written just before Christmas and promoted throughout the day.

There are plenty of valid criticisms to be made of Trump. But there's no valid reason they must literally be made on Christmas day.

Sigh. I had truly hoped, perhaps in youthful naivety, that we opinion journalists could take one day off from partisan warfare and tribal attacks. Its not that I think Christmas columns should be totally apolitical. Thats, of course, not in keeping with the spirit of the holiday and its inherently religious nature. For instance, a Washington Examiner op-ed we published on Christmas Eve, No, Jesus was not a socialist, was both interesting and timely, and of course, political. But notably, it was about disputing economic concepts and a point of historical contention not bashing Nancy Pelosi or the Democratic Party.

This is the right way to do holiday-themed commentary. Readers and participants alike are exhausted by the never-ending personal sniping. In Krugmans case, he literally exploited Christmas to launch hyperbolic criticisms of Republicans for what is an eminently reasonable and debatable policy: work requirements for welfare programs. He and Milbank both assumed the worst of their opponents intentions, even on Christmas.

This is par for the course in modern media, with some conservative columnists no doubt guilty of the same behavior. (You'll forgive me, I hope, that I didn't spend the day cruising the internet for even more bad takes.) But theres no doubt that Trump has driven liberal media a bit crazy and increased their propensity for tribal attacks no matter the cost. Lets just hope, come Christmastime next year, we can all do better.

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Shame on Paul Krugman and the New York Times for weaponizing Christmas to attack Trump - Washington Examiner