# Post ts_109184387016819050

- Post ID: `ts_109184387016819050`
- Platform: Truth Social
- Posted: 2022-10-17T15:45:30.415Z (UTC)
- Deleted: no
- Repost: no
- Canonical URL: https://trump.fm/post/ts_109184387016819050
- Analysis page: https://trump.fm/post/ts_109184387016819050/analysis
- Audio narration: https://static.trump.fm/audio/ts_109184387016819050.mp3 (a synthesized voice reading the post text, not a recording)

## Post text

> Just read in, of all places, The New York Times, that the Broken Old Crow, Mitch McConnell, has lost every single time to me in his cherished Senate races. I am 42-0 over the last two cycles, & never even tried to run up the score by opposing Todd Young of Indiana, or John Thune of South Dakota - They may be RINO’s, and puppets of Mitch, but they are just fine. Do I also get credit for endorsing Mitch himself, who was heading for a landslide LOSS until he begged me to Endorse him. Sadly, I did!

## Engagement

- Likes: 23,529
- Reposts: 5,649
- Replies: 1,587
- Views: unknown
- Metrics collected: 2026-02-01T01:19:51.432Z (UTC)

# Analysis

_Machine-generated by trump.fm on 2026-03-19T23:46:12.388Z (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 post exemplifies Trump's "kingmaker" self-narrative, using an inflated 42-0 endorsement claim to assert feudal dominance over the Republican Party. McConnell is cast as an ungrateful supplicant who "begged" for Trump's endorsement—a devaluation that serves both revenge (for McConnell's post-Jan 6 criticism) and loyalty enforcement during midterm season. The post's psychological architecture is notable: validation from a hostile source (NYT) is immediately weaponized against an intra-party rival, with magnanimity toward lesser targets (Young, Thune) reinforcing the power to grant or withhold approval. The "Sadly, I did!" finale reveals genuine narcissistic wound—the contamination sequence of having helped someone who later betrayed him. Posted the same week as the Jan 6 Committee's subpoena vote, this dominance display likely serves a compensatory function, reasserting control during a period of institutional threat. The factual claims are significantly distorted (the 42-0 record is inflated, McConnell was not facing a "landslide LOSS"), representing characteristic reality distortion in service of the grandiose self-narrative.

## Psychological Analysis: Post ts_109184387016819050

### Context
This post attacks Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell while simultaneously boasting about Trump's endorsement record (claiming 42-0) in Senate races. Posted October 17, 2022, during midterm campaign season and notably the same week the January 6 Committee voted to subpoena Trump.

### Authorship
Posted at 15:45 UTC = 11:45 AM ET. Mid-morning timing suggests possible aide involvement, but the content—stream-of-consciousness style, personal grievances, nicknames ("Broken Old Crow"), emotional reactivity, and the rambling structure—is strongly characteristic of authentic Trump. The parenthetical asides and escalating emotional arc (from boasting to bitterness: "Sadly, I did!") are hallmark Trump.

### Psychological Dynamics
The post is triggered by a NYT article that apparently validated his endorsement record. Rather than simply celebrating, he weaponizes it against McConnell—a longstanding intra-party rival. The core dynamic is **narcissistic supply** extracted from vindication, immediately redirected into **dominance display** over McConnell.

The narrative arc: (1) I always win, (2) I'm so dominant I didn't even bother destroying your allies, (3) You owe your own career to me, (4) I regret helping you. This is a classic dominance-submission frame—McConnell is cast as a supplicant ("begged me").

### Defense Mechanisms
- **Grandiosity** as primary mode: "42-0" framing, claiming magnanimity in not "running up the score"
- **Devaluation**: McConnell reduced to "Broken Old Crow," depicted as a beggar
- **Splitting**: McConnell allies are "RINO's and puppets" but "just fine"—tepid tolerance that reinforces his power to grant or withhold approval

### Rhetorical Techniques
The phrase "never even tried to run up the score" borrows sports metaphor to frame political endorsements as a game he's winning so thoroughly he can afford mercy. "Sadly, I did!" is a rhetorical dagger—feigned regret that implies McConnell was unworthy of his help.

### Fact Verification

| Claim | Verdict | Evidence |
|-------|---------|----------|
| "42-0 endorsement record in Senate races over last two cycles" | **Mostly False** | Trump's Senate endorsement record included notable losses (Roy Moore AL 2017, Martha McSally AZ 2020, Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue GA 2021 runoffs). The 42-0 figure appears fabricated or uses highly selective criteria. |
| "McConnell was heading for a landslide loss before Trump's endorsement" | **Mostly False** | McConnell won his 2020 reelection by 20 points. While Trump's endorsement helped, McConnell was favored in deep-red Kentucky regardless. |

Overall Veracity: 20%

## Authorship Analysis

**Self-Written** (score: 85%)

### Indicators

- Nickname usage ('Broken Old Crow')
- Stream-of-consciousness structure with parenthetical asides
- Emotional escalation ending with 'Sadly, I did!'
- Personal grievance narrative
- Ampersand usage

## Psychological Profile

### State

**Grandiose State**

**Trigger:** Supply Seeking (New York Times article validating endorsement record)

**Rage:** Intensity 40% targeting Mitch McConnell
- Proportionality: 30%

Sentiment: -0.30

**Mildly Hypomanic**
- Grandiose self-assessment
- Rapid-fire political score-settling across multiple posts

### Clinical

**Malignant Narcissism:**
- Narcissistic: 80%
- Antisocial: 30%
- Paranoid: 20%
- Sadism: 40%

**Defense Mechanisms:**
- idealization (immature)
- devaluation (immature)
- splitting (immature)
- distortion (pathological)

**Cognitive Complexity:**
- Complexity: 55%

**Parasocial Techniques:**
- Framing audience as insiders who understand party dynamics
- Inviting shared contempt for McConnell
- Positioning self as the audience's champion against establishment

## Danger Assessment

**NONE**

### Gaslighting

- Fabricated 42-0 record requires followers to accept inflated claims as fact
- Revisionist framing of McConnell's electoral viability

## Fact Checks (2)

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

> 42-0 endorsement record in Senate races over last two cycles

**MOSTLY FALSE**

Trump's Senate endorsement record included notable losses (Roy Moore AL 2017, Martha McSally AZ 2020, Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue GA 2021 runoffs). The 42-0 figure appears fabricated or uses highly selective criteria.

Sources: General knowledge of 2018-2022 election results

> McConnell was heading for a landslide loss before Trump's endorsement

**MOSTLY FALSE**

McConnell won his 2020 reelection by 20 points. While Trump's endorsement helped, McConnell was favored in deep-red Kentucky regardless.

Sources: 2020 Kentucky Senate race results

Overall Veracity: 20%

## Tags

- intra-party dominance (90%)
- McConnell rivalry (80%)
- endorsement record (70%)
- kingmaker narrative (80%)
- midterm campaigning (50%)

## That day

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

**Party Enforcer: Trump Spends the Day Punishing Disloyal Republicans**

Trump spent most of the day attacking fellow Republicans who've distanced themselves from him — Paul Ryan, a Colorado Senate candidate, and Mitch McConnell all took hits. The mood was consistently self-congratulatory and combative, with Trump positioning himself as the party's kingmaker who demands absolute loyalty. He boasted about poll numbers and Truth Social's supposed dominance while ignoring major world events like Russia's drone attacks on Kyiv and Xi Jinping's power consolidation. The sharpest moment came when he effectively told his base not to vote for a Republican Senate candidate in Colorado, prioritizing personal loyalty over his party's chances of winning the seat.

Full digest for 2022-10-17: https://trump.fm/date/2022-10-17/analysis

## Citation

- APA: Trump, D. J. (2022, October 17). Just read in, of all places, The New York Times,... [Social media post]. Truth Social. trump.fm. https://trump.fm/post/ts_109184387016819050
- MLA: Trump, Donald J. "Just read in, of all places, The New York Times, that the..." Truth Social, 17 Oct. 2022. trump.fm, https://trump.fm/post/ts_109184387016819050. Accessed 9 Oct. 2026.
- Chicago: Donald J. Trump, "Just read in, of all places, The New York Times, that the...," Truth Social, October 17, 2022, archived at trump.fm, https://trump.fm/post/ts_109184387016819050.

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