# Post ts_109045603804804007

- Post ID: `ts_109045603804804007`
- Platform: Truth Social
- Posted: 2022-09-23T03:31:06.661Z (UTC)
- Deleted: no
- Repost: no
- Canonical URL: https://trump.fm/post/ts_109045603804804007
- Analysis page: https://trump.fm/post/ts_109045603804804007/analysis
- Audio narration: https://static.trump.fm/audio/ts_109045603804804007.mp3 (a synthesized voice reading the post text, not a recording)

## Post text

> I just turned to CNN to see if Don Lemon, the dumbest man on television, was still on. Surprisingly, despite “deplorable” ratings, they have not yet yanked him from his chair. He had on with him another lonely and pathetic figure, con man Michael D’Antonio, who has been with CNN for years pretending he knows me, which he does not. I was probably the only one watching, but it was a sad sight seeing two losers,Trump Haters both, lamenting that I have come so far - Like President of the U.S.!

## Engagement

- Likes: 23,166
- Reposts: 4,933
- Replies: 933
- Views: unknown
- Metrics collected: 2026-02-01T01:19:51.434Z (UTC)

# Analysis

_Machine-generated by trump.fm on 2026-03-19T23:10:40.323Z (UTC): a model's reading of this post, not his words. Its psychological terms describe the language, not a clinical assessment of him._

## Summary

This late-night post exemplifies psychological displacement during acute legal crisis. With the NY AG fraud lawsuit just filed, the 11th Circuit ruling against him, and Special Master Dearie pressing his lawyers, Trump redirects aggression toward familiar, low-risk media targets. The post reveals a core narcissistic paradox: he claims CNN is irrelevant ("deplorable ratings," "probably the only one watching") while demonstrating he cannot stop monitoring hostile coverage at 11:31 PM. The cascading devaluation of Don Lemon and Michael D'Antonio ("dumbest," "lonely," "pathetic," "con man," "losers") serves dual functions — discharging displaced rage and reasserting dominance hierarchy. The grandiose closing ("I have come so far - Like President of the U.S.!") functions as narcissistic self-soothing during a period of genuine legal vulnerability. The projection is notable: he attributes loneliness and sadness to his targets while he is the one watching hostile television alone late at night. This pattern of late-night grievance posting during legal crises is longitudinally consistent and suggests an inability to self-regulate when narcissistic injury accumulates from institutional sources he cannot directly attack.

## Psychological Analysis: Post ts_109045603804804007

### Context
Posted at 11:31 PM ET (Trump likely at Mar-a-Lago or NYC), during a period of extraordinary legal pressure: NY AG fraud lawsuit, 11th Circuit ruling against him on classified docs, and Special Master Dearie pressing his lawyers. This post ignores all of that to attack CNN figures.

### Authorship
Late-night timing, stream-of-consciousness style, personal grievance content, characteristic insult patterns ("dumbest man on television," "lonely and pathetic figure," "con man"). Clearly authentic Trump.

### Psychological State
The post is a textbook example of **displacement**: under enormous legal threat from multiple directions, Trump redirects aggression toward safe, familiar targets (Don Lemon, a biographer). The need to watch CNN critics late at night and then post about it suggests **narcissistic supply-seeking through devaluation** — he cannot tolerate being discussed critically even by figures he claims are irrelevant.

The closing pivot — "lamenting that I have come so far - Like President of the U.S.!" — reveals the core narcissistic dynamic: even while attacking, he must reassert grandiosity. The dash and exclamation point convey genuine emotional satisfaction at this self-reminder.

### Defense Mechanisms
- **Devaluation**: "dumbest man," "losers," "pathetic," "lonely"
- **Denial**: Claims to be "probably the only one watching" — minimizing CNN's relevance while simultaneously monitoring it
- **Projection**: Attributes loneliness and sadness to targets while he is the one watching alone late at night
- **Rationalization**: Frames watching hostile coverage as casual channel-surfing ("I just turned to CNN")

### Rhetorical Techniques
The post follows a classic Trump attack narrative arc: casual setup → target identification → devaluation cascade → self-aggrandizing conclusion. The borrowed term "deplorable" is a deliberate callback to Clinton's 2016 gaffe, signaling in-group identity.

### Cognitive Notes
Coherent, well-structured narrative with clear logical flow. No word-finding issues. The parenthetical "which he does not" is syntactically clean. Consistent with baseline Trump late-night posting style.

## Fact Verification

| Claim | Verdict | Evidence |
|-------|---------|----------|
| "Don Lemon is still on CNN" | **True** | Don Lemon was hosting CNN Tonight in September 2022 (he was terminated in April 2023) |
| "CNN has deplorable ratings" | **Half True** | CNN ratings declined significantly post-2020 election but remained in millions of viewers |
| "Michael D'Antonio has been with CNN for years" | **Mostly True** | D'Antonio, a Trump biographer, appeared frequently as a CNN contributor |
| "Trump was probably the only one watching" | **False** | CNN late-night programming consistently drew hundreds of thousands to millions of viewers |

Overall Veracity: 57%

## Authorship Analysis

**Self-Written** (score: 95%)

### Indicators

- 11:31 PM ET posting time
- Stream-of-consciousness style
- Personal grievance content
- Characteristic insult patterns
- Emotional reactivity

## Psychological Profile

### State

**Grandiose State**

**Trigger:** Narcissistic Injury — Criticism (CNN coverage discussing Trump critically during period of major legal setbacks)

**Rage:** Intensity 50% targeting Don Lemon and Michael D'Antonio
- Proportionality: 20%

Sentiment: -0.60

**Mildly Hypomanic**
- Late-night posting
- Grandiose self-reference
- Energized attack mode

### Clinical

**Malignant Narcissism:**
- Narcissistic: 80%
- Antisocial: 20%
- Paranoid: 30%
- Sadism: 50%

**Defense Mechanisms:**
- devaluation (immature)
- projection (immature)
- denial (pathological)
- displacement (neurotic)

**Cognitive Complexity:**
- Complexity: 60%

**Parasocial Techniques:**
- Inviting audience to share contempt for named targets
- Modeling devaluation as entertainment

## Fact Checks (4)

_The model's verdicts from 2026-03-19._

> Don Lemon is still on CNN

**TRUE**

Don Lemon was hosting CNN Tonight in September 2022 (he was terminated in April 2023)

> CNN has deplorable ratings

**HALF TRUE**

CNN ratings declined significantly post-2020 election but remained in millions of viewers

> Michael D'Antonio has been with CNN for years

**MOSTLY TRUE**

D'Antonio, a Trump biographer, appeared frequently as a CNN contributor

> Trump was probably the only one watching

**FALSE**

CNN late-night programming consistently drew hundreds of thousands to millions of viewers

Overall Veracity: 57%

## Tags

- displacement (90%)
- media_attack (80%)
- legal_pressure_context (90%)
- late_night_grievance (80%)
- devaluation_cascade (85%)

## That day

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

**Under Legal Siege, Trump Launches All-Day Counteroffensive Against NY AG James**

Trump spent the day in full defensive mode following New York Attorney General Letitia James's civil fraud lawsuit filed two days earlier. The morning started with late-night attacks on James — calling her "racist" and promoting her election opponent — before drifting into a rambling CNN grievance post around midnight. After a roughly nine-hour sleep break, the afternoon brought a rapid-fire dump of links building a legal defense narrative, a relitigating of January 6th, and rally promotion for a North Carolina event. The day closed with a politically charged post about the death of a young Republican, weaponizing the tragedy to reinforce a persecution narrative.

Full digest for 2022-09-23: https://trump.fm/date/2022-09-23/analysis

## Citation

- APA: Trump, D. J. (2022, September 23). I just turned to CNN to see if Don Lemon, the... [Social media post]. Truth Social. trump.fm. https://trump.fm/post/ts_109045603804804007
- MLA: Trump, Donald J. "I just turned to CNN to see if Don Lemon, the dumbest man..." Truth Social, 23 Sep. 2022. trump.fm, https://trump.fm/post/ts_109045603804804007. Accessed 9 Oct. 2026.
- Chicago: Donald J. Trump, "I just turned to CNN to see if Don Lemon, the dumbest man...," Truth Social, September 23, 2022, archived at trump.fm, https://trump.fm/post/ts_109045603804804007.

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