# Post ts_108461526716987485

- Post ID: `ts_108461526716987485`
- Platform: Truth Social
- Posted: 2022-06-11T23:52:37.579Z (UTC)
- Deleted: no
- Repost: no
- Canonical URL: https://trump.fm/post/ts_108461526716987485
- Analysis page: https://trump.fm/post/ts_108461526716987485/analysis
- Audio narration: https://static.trump.fm/audio/ts_108461526716987485.mp3 (a synthesized voice reading the post text, not a recording)

## Post text

> Baseball pitching great and Hall of Famer, John Smoltz, has likewise turned into a fantastic commentator on the sport. Too bad we don’t have more people like him in the wonderful world of politics - It would be a lot better place out there!

## Engagement

- Likes: 24,380
- Reposts: 5,229
- Replies: 462
- Views: unknown
- Metrics collected: 2026-02-01T01:19:51.440Z (UTC)

# Analysis

_Machine-generated by trump.fm on 2026-03-23T11:32:26.504Z (UTC): a model's reading of this post, not his words. Its psychological terms describe the language, not a clinical assessment of him._

## John Smoltz Post — June 11, 2022 (~7:52 PM EDT)

### Contextual Frame

This post appears sandwiched between a cluster of high-intensity Jan. 6 committee attack posts. It functions as an emotional release valve — a momentary pivot to something genuinely pleasant (baseball nostalgia) after sustained defensive rage output. The word **"likewise"** at the open is the structurally most revealing element: it grammatically implies this post is *comparative* or sequential in the author's mind, yet no prior Smoltz reference exists in the session. "Likewise" may be a verbal tic carried over from internal monologue (e.g., watching Fox Sports, where Smoltz is an analyst), or a habitual connective device.

### Authorship Attribution

UTC 23:52 converts to **7:52 PM EDT** (Mar-a-Lago / Palm Beach, where Trump principally resided in June 2022). This is early evening — squarely in an ambiguous zone. The tone is relatively polished (no misspellings, proper capitalization), yet the colloquial tail ("a lot better place out there") and the structurally casual comma-splice mid-sentence carry authentic Trumpian rhythm. The indirect self-elevation pattern — complimenting someone in another field, then lamenting politics lacks such figures — is a well-documented Trump rhetorical signature (see also: his praise of various generals, businessmen, athletes followed by implicit or explicit self-comparison). On balance: **lean authentic**, likely composed while watching a broadcast.

### Psychological State & Narrative Dynamics

In the context of the surrounding posts' paranoid/defensive rage, this post represents a **brief grandiose respite** rather than a true mood shift. The surface content is benign admiration, but the underlying narcissistic architecture is intact:

- **Indirect supply-seeking**: The statement "Too bad we don't have more people like him in politics" functions as an implicit invitation for followers to respond "But YOU are exactly that!" — a classic triangulated admiration-fishing technique.
- **Self-as-connoisseur**: By positioning himself as the arbiter of Smoltz's greatness, Trump occupies the evaluative throne. He does not merely admire; he *validates* a Hall of Famer's worth. This is consistent with the narcissistic need to be the ultimate referent.
- **Displacement**: The emotional intensity of the Jan. 6 attack posts (CAPS, accusatory framing, WITCH HUNT lexicon) is fully absent here. This represents **displacement** — redirecting cathexis from a threatening domain (congressional investigation) to a safe nostalgic space (baseball legends).

### Level 3 — Narrative Identity

The protagonist role here is the **Connoisseur-King**: the great man who recognizes greatness in others and is magnanimous enough to say so. The contrasting "other" is the unnamed political class, implicitly inferior to Smoltz's model of excellence. The identity claim embedded in "wonderful world of politics" carries a faint irony given the vitriol of adjacent posts — it may be performative optimism, a deliberate tonal pivot for audience management.

### Rhetorical Devices

Relatively sparse. The **rhetorical question format** is absent here (contrast with adjacent posts). Devices present: **hyperbole** ("fantastic," "great"), **nostalgia appeal** (baseball as wholesome American institution), and **implicit comparison** (Smoltz as model that politics should emulate — with Trump as the silent referent who already meets that standard).

### Fact Verification

| Claim | Verdict | Evidence |
|-------|---------|----------|
| "John Smoltz is a Baseball Hall of Famer" | **True** | Smoltz was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2015, one of the elite closers/starters in MLB history. |
| "John Smoltz has become a commentator/analyst on baseball" | **True** | Smoltz has served as a prominent analyst for Fox Sports and TBS MLB coverage since retiring from playing, widely recognized in that role. |

Overall Veracity: 100%

## Authorship Analysis

**Uncertain** (score: 65%)

### Indicators

- Early evening posting time (7:52 PM EDT) — ambiguous zone, neither strongly authentic nor aide-typical
- Colloquial sentence tail ('a lot better place out there') matches Trump's spoken register
- Opening word 'likewise' suggests stream-of-consciousness carry-over from internal monologue, not polished drafting
- Indirect self-elevation via third-party praise is a well-documented authentic Trump rhetorical pattern
- No typos or misspellings — slightly more polished than typical late-night authentic posts, but not conclusive

## Psychological Profile

### State

**Grandiose State**

**Trigger:** Supply Seeking (Likely a Fox Sports / TBS broadcast featuring Smoltz as analyst)

Sentiment: +0.55

### Clinical

**Malignant Narcissism:**
- Narcissistic: 30%
- Antisocial: 0%
- Paranoid: 0%
- Sadism: 0%

**Defense Mechanisms:**
- displacement (neurotic)
- idealization (immature)

**Cognitive Complexity:**
- Complexity: 25%

**Parasocial Techniques:**
- Indirect supply-seeking: complimenting a beloved public figure to invite followers to apply the same standard to Trump
- Connoisseur positioning: occupying evaluative authority over a Hall of Famer's worth

## Fact Checks (2)

_The model's verdicts from 2026-03-23._

> John Smoltz is a Baseball Hall of Famer

**TRUE**

Smoltz was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2015, one of the elite closers/starters in MLB history.

Sources: National Baseball Hall of Fame records

> John Smoltz has become a commentator/analyst on baseball

**TRUE**

Smoltz has served as a prominent analyst for Fox Sports and TBS MLB coverage since retiring from playing, widely recognized in that role.

Sources: Fox Sports, TBS MLB broadcast rosters

Overall Veracity: 100%

## Tags

- displacement (70%)
- indirect_supply_seeking (60%)
- baseball_nostalgia (80%)
- intra_session_tonal_pivot (70%)
- triangulated_self_elevation (60%)
- authentic_lean (65%)

## That day

_From trump.fm's machine-generated digest of the day, not his words._

**Morning-After Wounds: Jan 6 Hearings Trigger Full DARVO Cycle From Bedminster**

Trump spent the day at Bedminster reacting to the first prime-time January 6 Committee hearing that aired two nights earlier. The morning opened with back-to-back near-identical attacks on the committee — an unusual double-post suggesting real agitation — before shifting to a dismissive ratings attack in the afternoon. The mood softened through the day, moving from angry defensiveness to routine endorsements and an oddly gentle compliment about a baseball commentator by evening. The dominant story was a man working through a narcissistic injury in stages: fury, dismissal, then deliberate distraction.

Full digest for 2022-06-11: https://trump.fm/date/2022-06-11/analysis

## Citation

- APA: Trump, D. J. (2022, June 11). Baseball pitching great and Hall of Famer, John... [Social media post]. Truth Social. trump.fm. https://trump.fm/post/ts_108461526716987485
- MLA: Trump, Donald J. "Baseball pitching great and Hall of Famer, John Smoltz, has..." Truth Social, 11 Jun. 2022. trump.fm, https://trump.fm/post/ts_108461526716987485. Accessed 9 Oct. 2026.
- Chicago: Donald J. Trump, "Baseball pitching great and Hall of Famer, John Smoltz, has...," Truth Social, June 11, 2022, archived at trump.fm, https://trump.fm/post/ts_108461526716987485.

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