# Post ts_109535426389845351

- Post ID: `ts_109535426389845351`
- Platform: Truth Social
- Posted: 2022-12-18T15:39:26.154Z (UTC)
- Deleted: no
- Repost: no
- Canonical URL: https://trump.fm/post/ts_109535426389845351
- Analysis page: https://trump.fm/post/ts_109535426389845351/analysis
- Audio narration: https://static.trump.fm/audio/ts_109535426389845351.mp3 (a synthesized voice reading the post text, not a recording)

## Post text

> MSNBC and CNN had their Worst-Rated Years EVER—down 21% and 33% overall, and 39% and 36% among viewers 25-54 (Key Demo).This is only because they are against “Trump"—but also because they are losers, and always will be, with their ideology. FAKE NEWS!

## Engagement

- Likes: 24,483
- Reposts: 5,589
- Replies: 902
- Views: unknown
- Metrics collected: 2026-02-01T01:19:51.425Z (UTC)

# Analysis

_Machine-generated by trump.fm on 2026-03-20T01:08:20.059Z (UTC): a model's reading of this post, not his words. Its psychological terms describe the language, not a clinical assessment of him._

## Psychological Analysis: MSNBC/CNN Ratings Attack

### Context
Post from Dec 18, 2022 (10:39 AM ET, Mar-a-Lago). Part of a high-volume posting day with multiple posts attacking the Jan 6 Committee, FBI, and media. The committee had just made criminal referrals.

### Authorship
Mid-morning timing suggests possible aide involvement, but the stylistic markers—run-on structure, self-referential third-person "Trump" in quotes, the impulsive "FAKE NEWS!" sign-off, and the gratuitous insult "losers"—are strongly characteristic of authentic Trump composition. The missing space after the period following "(Key Demo)" is a minor formatting error consistent with personal posting.

### Psychological Analysis
This post fits a familiar pattern of narcissistic supply-seeking through dominance display. By citing declining ratings of adversarial networks, Trump frames media opposition as self-defeating—a classic narcissistic inversion where critics are punished by reality itself. The causal attribution ("only because they are against Trump") simultaneously acknowledges his centrality and frames opposition as inherently futile.

The post serves as displacement from the real threat: the Jan 6 Committee's criminal referrals. Rather than address substantive legal jeopardy, he attacks peripheral targets (cable news ratings), redirecting attention to a domain where he can claim victory.

### Rhetorical Devices
Statistical cherry-picking combined with ad hominem ("losers") and ideological dismissal. The third-person self-reference ("Trump") functions as brand reinforcement—treating himself as an institution rather than a person.

## Fact Verification

| Claim | Verdict | Evidence |
|-------|---------|----------|
| "MSNBC had worst-rated year ever, down 21% overall and 39% in 25-54 demo" | **Mostly True** | Cable news ratings did decline significantly in 2022 compared to the election/pandemic highs of 2020-2021. Specific percentages are approximately in range but exact figures are difficult to verify without Nielsen data. |
| "CNN down 33% overall and 36% in 25-54 demo" | **Mostly True** | CNN experienced significant ratings declines in 2022, particularly after the departure of Jeff Zucker and the CNN+ debacle. Decline percentages are plausible. |
| "Decline is 'only because they are against Trump'" | **Mostly False** | Multiple factors drove ratings decline: post-election cycle normalization, cord-cutting trends, CNN leadership turmoil, and reduced pandemic viewership. Opposition to Trump was not the primary driver. |

Overall Veracity: 60%

## Authorship Analysis

**Self-Written** (score: 80%)

### Indicators

- Missing space after period (formatting error)
- Self-referential third-person 'Trump' in quotes
- FAKE NEWS! sign-off catchphrase
- Gratuitous insult 'losers'
- Mid-morning timing slightly favors aide but style is authentic

## Psychological Profile

### State

**Grandiose State**

**Trigger:** Narcissistic Injury — Exposure (Jan 6 Committee criminal referrals)

Sentiment: -0.40

### Clinical

**Malignant Narcissism:**
- Narcissistic: 70%
- Antisocial: 20%
- Paranoid: 20%
- Sadism: 30%

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

**Cognitive Complexity:**
- Complexity: 40%

**Parasocial Techniques:**
- shared enemy construction
- victory narrative

## Fact Checks (3)

_The model's verdicts from 2026-03-20._

> MSNBC had worst-rated year ever, down 21% overall and 39% in 25-54 demo

**MOSTLY TRUE**

Cable news ratings did decline significantly in 2022 compared to the election/pandemic highs of 2020-2021. Specific percentages are approximately in range but exact figures are difficult to verify without Nielsen data.

> CNN down 33% overall and 36% in 25-54 demo

**MOSTLY TRUE**

CNN experienced significant ratings declines in 2022, particularly after the departure of Jeff Zucker and the CNN+ debacle. Decline percentages are plausible.

> Decline is 'only because they are against Trump'

**MOSTLY FALSE**

Multiple factors drove ratings decline: post-election cycle normalization, cord-cutting trends, CNN leadership turmoil, and reduced pandemic viewership. Opposition to Trump was not the primary driver.

Overall Veracity: 60%

## Tags

- media-attack (90%)
- ratings-dominance (80%)
- displacement (70%)
- supply-seeking (60%)

## That day

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

**On Eve of Criminal Referrals, a Daylong Defensive Siege Reveals Deep Narcissistic Injury**

Trump spent the day in a sustained defensive posture as the January 6th Committee prepared to vote on criminal referrals against him. The evening before began with a long, layered attack on the committee, followed by a rapid-fire morning burst of nine posts in under three hours -- nearly all focused on delegitimizing the investigation, the FBI, and the DOJ. The mood swung between defiant grandiosity and wounded victimhood, with repeated returns to the 2020 election fraud narrative now 25 months old. Several posts contained outright false claims, including that the committee had no Republican members and that the FBI shut down his Twitter account.

Full digest for 2022-12-18: https://trump.fm/date/2022-12-18/analysis

## Citation

- APA: Trump, D. J. (2022, December 18). MSNBC and CNN had their Worst-Rated Years... [Social media post]. Truth Social. trump.fm. https://trump.fm/post/ts_109535426389845351
- MLA: Trump, Donald J. "MSNBC and CNN had their Worst-Rated Years EVER—down 21% and..." Truth Social, 18 Dec. 2022. trump.fm, https://trump.fm/post/ts_109535426389845351. Accessed 9 Oct. 2026.
- Chicago: Donald J. Trump, "MSNBC and CNN had their Worst-Rated Years EVER—down 21% and...," Truth Social, December 18, 2022, archived at trump.fm, https://trump.fm/post/ts_109535426389845351.

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