# Post ts_110355939887934196

- Post ID: `ts_110355939887934196`
- Platform: Truth Social
- Posted: 2023-05-12T13:26:48.543Z (UTC)
- Deleted: no
- Repost: no
- Canonical URL: https://trump.fm/post/ts_110355939887934196
- Analysis page: https://trump.fm/post/ts_110355939887934196/analysis
- Audio narration: https://static.trump.fm/audio/ts_110355939887934196.mp3 (a synthesized voice reading the post text, not a recording)

## Post text

> In December 2017, Ron Desanctimonious was polling at 5% in the Republican primary for Governor of Florida. DeSantis had virtually no endorsements and was being drastically out-raised by Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam, the widely-viewed favorite. Ron had zero chance of winning. On December 21, 2017, President Donald J. Trump Endorsed in support of DeSanctus. His polling skyrocketed, and DeSantis won the Republican primary, 57% - 37%, all because of President Trump.

## Engagement

- Likes: 16,191
- Reposts: 3,832
- Replies: 871
- Views: unknown
- Metrics collected: 2026-02-01T01:19:51.412Z (UTC)

# Analysis

_Machine-generated by trump.fm on 2026-03-20T04:44:19.246Z (UTC): a model's reading of this post, not his words. Its psychological terms describe the language, not a clinical assessment of him._

## Summary

Post is a coordinated "kingmaker" narrative targeting DeSantis as ingrate beneficiary, triggered by DeSantis's consolidating 2024 viability. Dual mocking nicknames ('DeSanctimonious,' 'DeSanctus') within a single formal-register historical document signal controlled contempt — a deliberate dominance display rather than impulsive rage. The psychological mechanism is narcissistic devaluation: by establishing that DeSantis's political existence is wholly Trump's gift, any rivalry becomes ontologically illegitimate. Third-person self-glorification, post-hoc causal attribution, and an implied permanent debt are consistent with baseline narcissistic personality features at high intensity. Same-day parallel Georgia/Kemp post confirms strategic communications coordination (hybrid authorship: Trump concept, aide execution). No danger indicators. Clinically significant insofar as it illustrates the patron-client schema underlying Trump's self-concept — beneficiaries are possessions, not peers — but does not deviate markedly from his established rivalry-management baseline.

# Psychological Analysis: Truth Social Post, 2023-05-12

## Context and Trigger

This post appears the morning after Trump's CNN town hall (May 11), three days after the E. Jean Carroll jury found him liable for sexual abuse and defamation (awarding $5M), and amid a period when Ron DeSantis was consolidating support as a potential 2024 rival. The simultaneous publication of a parallel Georgia/Kemp post on the same day confirms this is a coordinated messaging campaign, not spontaneous memory.

The operative psychological trigger is **narcissistic injury via status comparison**: a figure Trump perceives as a personal creation — and therefore a subordinate — is threatening to displace him as the dominant force in Republican politics. The Carroll verdict and ongoing legal pressures heighten his vulnerability state, making the DeSantis challenge more threatening and the compensatory grandiosity more acute.

## Level 1: Dispositional Traits

**Extraversion** (high): Assertiveness and dominance-seeking pervade the post — the subject inserts himself as the causal agent of another man's career.

**Agreeableness** (very low): The post is exploitative and contemptuous. Mocking nicknames embedded in formal prose signal interpersonal contempt as a stylistic choice.

**Conscientiousness** (moderate): The historical structure and specific dates suggest deliberate information marshaling, though in service of self-interest rather than accuracy.

**Neuroticism** (moderate): Controlled hostile affect — this is not an explosive post but contains structured aggression. The dual nickname inconsistency ('DeSanctimonious' vs. 'DeSanctus') hints at underlying emotional activation bleeding through editorial control.

**Openness** (low): Rigid zero-sum framing; DeSantis's political success is a debt, not an independent achievement.

## Level 2: Characteristic Adaptations

**Agency motives dominate entirely.** The post is an exercise in power assertion and status reclamation. There are no communion motives present — no coalition-building, no shared identity appeal beyond the implicit call for followers to adopt the ingratitude narrative.

**Schema revealed:** The world is organized around a patron-client hierarchy with Trump at the apex. Those who have received his investment are obligated, permanently. Rivalry by a beneficiary is ontologically illegitimate.

## Level 3: Narrative Identity

- **Protagonist role:** The Kingmaker — the indispensable patron who grants careers
- **Narrative sequence:** Contamination — Trump gifted DeSantis everything → DeSantis now threatens betrayal
- **Identity claims:** "I am the reason you exist politically; without me, you are nothing"
- **Contrasting other:** DeSantis as the ingrate beneficiary, defined entirely by what Trump gave him

The Kingmaker archetype serves dual psychological functions: it reasserts dominance over a threatening rival while constructing a loyalty test for followers. Those who continue supporting DeSantis implicitly accept that Trump's gift means nothing — a position the framing makes morally untenable for loyal followers.

## Level 4: Clinical Indicators

**Narcissistic features** are highly consistent: grandiosity (sole causal agent of DeSantis's career), self-reference in third-person as a historical figure, entitlement to gratitude, devaluation of the rival through mockery.

**Sadistic component** (mild-moderate): The mocking nicknames are not rhetorical accidents — they are chosen for humiliation. 'DeSanctimonious' attacks religious authenticity; 'DeSanctus' suggests the name itself is unworthy of correct pronunciation. The pleasure in diminishment is evident.

**Defense mechanisms:**
1. **Devaluation** (immature): Dual mocking nicknames as symbolic castration of a rival
2. **Rationalization** (neurotic): Historical narrative as justification for treating DeSantis as a subordinate
3. **Distortion** (pathological): The claim that DeSantis won "all because of President Trump" requires wholesale distortion of complex political causality into personal debt

## Authorship Attribution

The 9:26 AM EDT timestamp places this squarely in business hours — aide territory. The polished chronological structure, lack of typos, and same-day coordinated parallel post (Georgia/Kemp) confirm strategic communications involvement. However, the two different DeSantis mockery nicknames in a single post and the third-person self-glorification formula are authentically Trump — an aide would standardize one nickname. **Assessment: hybrid authorship** — Trump concept and emotional direction, aide execution and formatting. Confidence: medium.

## Fact Verification

| Claim | Verdict | Evidence |
|-------|---------|----------|
| "Ron DeSantis was polling at 5% in the Republican primary for Governor of Florida in December 2017" | **Mostly True** | DeSantis was a relatively obscure backbench congressman before Trump's endorsement. Pre-endorsement polls from late 2017 did show him in low single digits with minimal name recognition. The 5% figure is plausible though precise sourcing would be required to confirm the exact number. |
| "Adam Putnam was the widely-viewed favorite for the 2018 Florida Republican gubernatorial primary" | **True** | Putnam, as Florida Agriculture Commissioner with high name recognition and strong fundraising, was broadly considered the frontrunner before Trump's December 2017 endorsement of DeSantis. |
| "Trump endorsed DeSantis on December 21, 2017" | **Mostly True** | Trump's endorsement of DeSantis was well-documented and occurred in late 2017, consistent with this claim. The specific date of December 21 cannot be independently confirmed here but is plausible. |
| "DeSantis won the Republican primary 57%-37%" | **Mostly True** | DeSantis won the 2018 Florida Republican gubernatorial primary with approximately 56.5% to Putnam's approximately 36.7% — the rounded figures of 57%-37% are essentially accurate. |
| "DeSantis won 'all because of President Trump'" | **Mostly False** | While Trump's endorsement was widely credited as a decisive factor, attributing the entire outcome to a single endorsement ignores DeSantis's own campaign performance, Putnam's strategic errors, media attention generated by the endorsement (not solely Trump's act), and the general dynamics of the primary. 'All because of' is a gross overstatement of causal attribution. |

Overall Veracity: 72%

## Danger Assessment

**None.** No violent imagery, no dehumanizing language, no eliminationist rhetoric. This is political rivalry management through historical narrative, not threat escalation.

## Summary

This post is a psychologically coherent exercise in **patron-claim dominance** driven by narcissistic injury from DeSantis's emergence as a peer competitor. The kingmaker narrative converts a political rival into a permanently indebted subordinate, reframing competition as ingratitude. The dual mocking nicknames within a single formal-register post reveal controlled contempt: Trump is not merely attacking DeSantis; he is staging a public diminishment designed to signal hierarchical superiority to followers. The coordinated same-day Florida/Georgia endorsement post series confirms strategic intent. Clinical patterns consistent with narcissistic personality features are strongly present — particularly grandiosity, entitlement, and devaluation — operating at baseline intensity for this subject. No marked deviation from longitudinal baseline; this is a textbook narcissistic rivalry-management response.

## Authorship Analysis

**Uncertain** (score: 60%)

### Indicators

- Timestamp converts to 9:26 AM EDT — business hours, consistent with aide involvement
- Structured chronological narrative with specific dates, percentages, and a formal historical framing atypical of impulsive authentic posts
- Third-person self-glorification ('President Donald J. Trump Endorsed') is a hallmark Trump stylistic tic, suggesting dictation or heavy personal input
- Dual nicknames 'DeSanctimonious' and 'DeSanctus' in the same post are authentic Trump coinage — aides would typically standardize to one
- Complete sentences, no typos, no ALL CAPS outbursts — polished surface suggests aide editing

## Psychological Profile

### State

**Grandiose State**

**Trigger:** Narcissistic Injury — Comparison (Ron DeSantis)

**Rage:** Intensity 45% targeting Ron DeSantis
- Proportionality: 30%

Sentiment: -0.25

### Clinical

**Malignant Narcissism:**
- Narcissistic: 82%
- Antisocial: 28%
- Paranoid: 32%
- Sadism: 38%

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

**Cognitive Complexity:**
- Complexity: 52%

**Parasocial Techniques:**
- Third-person self-reference positions Trump as historical figure rather than partisan combatant
- Recasting personal rivalry as historical record invites audience to perform independent verification of Trump's indispensability
- Framing DeSantis's success as a gift creates audience expectation of loyalty — when DeSantis doesn't perform it, followers share the sense of betrayal

## Fact Checks (5)

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

> Ron DeSantis was polling at 5% in the Republican primary for Governor of Florida in December 2017

**MOSTLY TRUE**

DeSantis was a relatively obscure backbench congressman before Trump's endorsement. Pre-endorsement polls from late 2017 did show him in low single digits with minimal name recognition. The 5% figure is plausible though precise sourcing would be required to confirm the exact number.

Sources: General knowledge of 2018 Florida Republican gubernatorial primary

> Adam Putnam was the widely-viewed favorite for the 2018 Florida Republican gubernatorial primary

**TRUE**

Putnam, as Florida Agriculture Commissioner with high name recognition and strong fundraising, was broadly considered the frontrunner before Trump's December 2017 endorsement of DeSantis.

Sources: General knowledge of 2018 Florida Republican primary

> Trump endorsed DeSantis on December 21, 2017

**MOSTLY TRUE**

Trump's endorsement of DeSantis was well-documented and occurred in late 2017, consistent with this claim. The specific date of December 21 cannot be independently confirmed here but is plausible.

Sources: General knowledge

> DeSantis won the Republican primary 57%-37%

**MOSTLY TRUE**

DeSantis won the 2018 Florida Republican gubernatorial primary with approximately 56.5% to Putnam's approximately 36.7% — the rounded figures of 57%-37% are essentially accurate.

Sources: General knowledge of 2018 Florida primary results

> DeSantis won 'all because of President Trump'

**MOSTLY FALSE**

While Trump's endorsement was widely credited as a decisive factor, attributing the entire outcome to a single endorsement ignores DeSantis's own campaign performance, Putnam's strategic errors, media attention generated by the endorsement (not solely Trump's act), and the general dynamics of the primary. 'All because of' is a gross overstatement of causal attribution.

Sources: General knowledge of endorsement effects in primaries

Overall Veracity: 72%

## Tags

- desantis-rivalry (95%)
- kingmaker-narrative (90%)
- narcissistic-devaluation (85%)
- mock-historical-framing (80%)
- third-person-grandiosity (80%)
- hybrid-authorship (70%)
- ingratitude-schema (85%)
- coordinated-messaging (75%)

## That day

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

**Kingmaker Narrative Deployed as Shield Against Carroll Verdict Fallout**

Trump spent the day aggressively reasserting his political influence, posting a coordinated series of claims about having single-handedly created the careers of both Brian Kemp and Ron DeSantis. The DeSantis attacks escalated from historical narrative to personal insult, declaring he needs a "personality transplant." A high-intensity all-caps post about the southern border appeared to channel frustration from the E. Jean Carroll verdict days earlier into a more comfortable target. The day closed quietly with a campaign slogan video and a Breitbart link celebrating his CNN Town Hall performance.

Full digest for 2023-05-12: https://trump.fm/date/2023-05-12/analysis

## Citation

- APA: Trump, D. J. (2023, May 12). In December 2017, Ron Desanctimonious was polling... [Social media post]. Truth Social. trump.fm. https://trump.fm/post/ts_110355939887934196
- MLA: Trump, Donald J. "In December 2017, Ron Desanctimonious was polling at 5% in..." Truth Social, 12 May. 2023. trump.fm, https://trump.fm/post/ts_110355939887934196. Accessed 9 Oct. 2026.
- Chicago: Donald J. Trump, "In December 2017, Ron Desanctimonious was polling at 5% in...," Truth Social, May 12, 2023, archived at trump.fm, https://trump.fm/post/ts_110355939887934196.

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