Rep. Brian Mast Pans Newly Coined 'Post-Election Stress Disorder'

Rep. Brian Mast, an Army veteran who lost both his legs while fighting in Afghanistan, told Fox News that the newly coined term "Post-Election Stress Disorder" to describe those who are having difficulties getting over Donald Trump being elected president does a disservice to those veterans who are suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.

The freshman Republican congressman from Florida said he was sympathetic to any stress people who are experiencing this following their disappointment at the election result, but said describing it a disorder is an exaggeration and minimizes those with real disorders.

Before explaining his view, Mast joked on the "Fox & Friends" program that "There was a big missed opportunity in naming it 'Post-Election Stress Disorder.' I would have preferred they name it 'Post-Inauguration Stress Disorder.' That way they could have called it 'PISD.'"

Turning serious, Mast said "There is a big difference between being pissed off about things and what happens on the battlefield. I have empathy for maybe the stress that is in people's lives as a result of this election, but that doesn't mean there is any real comparison to service members that have been targeted by snipers, that have been blown up, that have had to take the lives of their enemies, that have had their uniforms stained by the blood of their friends, or have had to bury friends year after year after year, have been on deployments year after year. There's not a comparison between the two."

When asked about the performance so far of the Trump administration, Mast said he thought that there would have been a major divide in the country no matter who was president, because there is a significant difference in the world view of the two parties.

However, he said, "To be critical of my own side, I think we can do a much better job of messaging many of the things out there," explaining that if people have had stress about many of the Trump policies, "that’s our fault for doing a bad job of messaging, to a certain degree."

• Keeping Left Off Balance Makes America Great
• Activists Plant 'Refugees Welcome' Sign on Statue of Liberty