# Post ts_109789530291277293

- Post ID: `ts_109789530291277293`
- Platform: Truth Social
- Posted: 2023-02-01T12:41:23.987Z (UTC)
- Deleted: no
- Repost: no
- Canonical URL: https://trump.fm/post/ts_109789530291277293
- Analysis page: https://trump.fm/post/ts_109789530291277293/analysis
- Audio narration: https://static.trump.fm/audio/ts_109789530291277293.mp3 (a synthesized voice reading the post text, not a recording)

## Post text

> It’s an incredible and very beautiful thing to watch. After all these years, the purveyors of Fake News are being CRUSHED in the Ratings. Be careful FoxNews, your numbers are WAY down also — heading in the wrong direction. You don’t want to be another Fake News CNN or MSDNC. Their FINISHED! Sorry to say, but the only thing that can save them is the Trump Presidency. I told them that a long time ago, but they just wouldn’t listen!

## Engagement

- Likes: 13,150
- Reposts: 3,511
- Replies: 543
- Views: unknown
- Metrics collected: 2026-02-01T01:19:51.422Z (UTC)

# Analysis

_Machine-generated by trump.fm on 2026-03-20T02:01:49.213Z (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 media-as-narcissistic-supply framework. While facing a grand jury investigation, he deflects entirely to celebrating cable news ratings declines — framing others' misfortune as "beautiful." The central psychological feature is the grandiose indispensability claim: only his presidency can save the media industry. The Fox News warning functions as in-group loyalty enforcement, threatening reclassification from ally to "Fake News" — a splitting mechanism that keeps allies in perpetual compliance anxiety. The prophetic stance ("I told them") reinforces his self-narrative as the ignored truth-teller. Clinically, the post demonstrates stable grandiose narcissistic functioning with ego-syntonic schadenfreude and effective compartmentalization of legal threat.

## Psychological Analysis: Post ts_109789530291277293

### Context & Authorship
Posted at 12:41 UTC on Feb 1, 2023. Trump was likely at Mar-a-Lago (EST = 7:41 AM). Early morning but not deep night. The post contains a grammatical error ("Their" for "They're") and emotional, stream-of-consciousness quality with ALL CAPS emphasis — consistent with authentic Trump authorship. The error is notable as it's a common Trump pattern rather than a typo.

### Psychological Analysis
This post is a **supply-seeking** and **preemptive attack** hybrid. Trump is experiencing narcissistic gratification from declining cable news ratings while simultaneously warning Fox News — a classic loyalty enforcement move. The grand jury investigation (Bragg/hush money) is the background stressor; this post deflects by asserting dominance over the media landscape.

The core claim — "the only thing that can save them is the Trump Presidency" — is textbook grandiosity: positioning himself as the indispensable object around which an entire industry orbits. This is not merely boasting but reflects a genuine schema in which he is the central figure of American public life.

### Defense Mechanisms
- **Denial/Distortion**: Reframing media scrutiny as their problem, not his
- **Projection**: Media are "fake" and failing; his own legal/political vulnerabilities are unaddressed
- **Splitting**: Clean binary between Truth (him) and "Fake News" (everyone else), with Fox News threatened with exile to the out-group

### Rhetorical Techniques
The Fox News warning is a **loyalty test** — comply or be reclassified as enemy. "MSDNC" is a dehumanizing nickname. The framing of watching enemies fail as "beautiful" reflects ego-syntonic sadism (pleasure in others' decline).

### Cognitive Note
"Their FINISHED" (they're/their confusion) is a persistent pattern in Trump's writing, not necessarily indicative of decline — this error appears throughout his social media history.

## Fact Verification

| Claim | Verdict | Evidence |
|-------|---------|----------|
| "Cable news ratings for CNN and MSNBC were significantly down" | **Mostly True** | CNN and MSNBC did experience significant ratings declines in 2022-2023 compared to Trump-era peaks, though this is partly a normal post-election cycle pattern |
| "Fox News ratings were also declining" | **Half True** | Fox News remained the top-rated cable news network but experienced some ratings softness in early 2023, particularly after midterm elections |
| "Only the Trump Presidency can save cable news networks" | **Mostly True** | Ironically somewhat accurate — Trump's presidency drove historic cable news viewership across all networks. His candidacy/presidency does correlate with ratings boosts, though 'only thing' is hyperbolic |

Overall Veracity: 70%

## Authorship Analysis

**Self-Written** (score: 90%)

### Indicators

- grammatical error (Their/They're)
- ALL CAPS emphasis on multiple words
- stream-of-consciousness flow
- emotional reactivity
- 7:41 AM local time — early morning

## Psychological Profile

### State

**Grandiose State**

**Trigger:** Supply Seeking (declining cable news ratings)

Sentiment: +0.40

**Mildly Hypomanic**
- Gleeful, expansive tone
- Grandiose self-assessment
- Multiple targets addressed in rapid succession

### Clinical

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

**Defense Mechanisms:**
- splitting (immature)
- distortion (pathological)
- projection (immature)

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

**Parasocial Techniques:**
- shared schadenfreude — inviting audience to enjoy media decline together
- positioning as prophet ('I told them a long time ago')

## Danger Assessment

**NONE**

### Gaslighting

- Delegitimization of mainstream media as universally 'Fake News'
- Implicit demand that Fox News align with his narrative or be reclassified as enemy

## Fact Checks (3)

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

> Cable news ratings for CNN and MSNBC were significantly down

**MOSTLY TRUE**

CNN and MSNBC did experience significant ratings declines in 2022-2023 compared to Trump-era peaks, though this is partly a normal post-election cycle pattern

Sources: Nielsen ratings data 2022-2023

> Fox News ratings were also declining

**HALF TRUE**

Fox News remained the top-rated cable news network but experienced some ratings softness in early 2023, particularly after midterm elections

Sources: Nielsen ratings data

> Only the Trump Presidency can save cable news networks

**MOSTLY TRUE**

Ironically somewhat accurate — Trump's presidency drove historic cable news viewership across all networks. His candidacy/presidency does correlate with ratings boosts, though 'only thing' is hyperbolic

Overall Veracity: 70%

## Tags

- media-attack (90%)
- loyalty-enforcement (80%)
- grandiosity (80%)
- fox-news-warning (70%)
- ratings-obsession (70%)

## That day

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

**Multi-Front Offensive Day Escalates from Grandiose Dominance Display to Death Penalty Rhetoric Against FBI**

Trump spent the day firing in every direction -- attacking DeSantis, the Manhattan DA, cable news, Mitch McConnell, Nikki Haley, and the FBI across 19 posts. The mood was overwhelmingly combative and self-congratulatory, with rapid-fire morning bursts and a darker afternoon turn. The most alarming moment came in the final post, where he floated the death penalty for an FBI figure accused of election interference. Immigration rhetoric was especially aggressive, describing the country as being "poisoned to death" -- a preview of language that would intensify throughout 2023.

Full digest for 2023-02-01: https://trump.fm/date/2023-02-01/analysis

## Citation

- APA: Trump, D. J. (2023, February 1). It’s an incredible and very beautiful thing to... [Social media post]. Truth Social. trump.fm. https://trump.fm/post/ts_109789530291277293
- MLA: Trump, Donald J. "It’s an incredible and very beautiful thing to watch. After..." Truth Social, 1 Feb. 2023. trump.fm, https://trump.fm/post/ts_109789530291277293. Accessed 9 Oct. 2026.
- Chicago: Donald J. Trump, "It’s an incredible and very beautiful thing to watch. After...," Truth Social, February 1, 2023, archived at trump.fm, https://trump.fm/post/ts_109789530291277293.

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