Analysis: The Wall Street Journal and FoxNews keep pushing the narrati...

2y ago Sep 11, 2023 at 3:32 AM

The Wall Street Journal and FoxNews keep pushing the narrative, through Trey Gowdy and others, that “BOTH” Crooked Joe Biden and 45th President Donald J. Trump are unpopular within their own Party. This happens to be true for Crooked Joe, where they won’t even let RFK Jr. have his votes fairly counted (more RIGGING, and STEALING Elections!), but VERY untrue for “TRUMP,” where I have a 90% Approval Rating, and am crushing the “second tier” candidates by 50, 60, and even 70 Points. THAT’S POPULAR!

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AI Analysis

Machine-generated analysis of the post above on 2026-03-20. Not written by the author of the post.

Danger Level

None

Narcissistic State

Grandiose

Authorship

Self-Written

Intensity

74%

Posted at 11:32 PM EDT (September 11 UTC), this authentic late-night post represents a textbook narcissistic injury response to an unfavorable media equivalence. The trigger — WSJ/Fox equating Trump's intraparty standing with Biden's — is experienced as an intolerable status-leveling attack, met not with proportionate rebuttal but with grandiose overcorrection: 90% approval, 50-70 point margins, and the triumphalist self-verdict "THAT'S POPULAR!" The psychological sequence (injury → splitting → grandiose counter-assertion → rhetorical self-validation) is well within established baseline patterns. Structurally notable is the betrayal-by-ally dimension — Fox and WSJ are perceived as defecting allies rather than pure opponents, generating more acute narcissistic injury than attacks from designated enemies. The post continues a five-post same-day series targeting these outlets, suggesting sustained rumination consistent with a mild hypomanic posting episode. The extension of the "RIGGING and STEALING" frame onto RFK Jr.'s primary situation is the post's most politically consequential element: epistemic inoculation that pre-contaminates future Democratic primary results before any voting has occurred, training audiences to interpret procedural incumbency-protection as evidence of electoral fraud. No danger indicators present. Cognitive markers consistent with established baseline. No anomalous deviation from prior corpus.

Authorship Analysis

Self-Written

Indicators:

Late-night post: 11:32 PM EDT on September 10 — strong authentic indicator
ALL-CAPS passages: 'BOTH', 'TRUMP', 'THAT'S POPULAR!' — signature Trump typography
Third-person self-reference: '45th President Donald J. Trump' and capitalized 'TRUMP'
Stream-of-consciousness structure with rhetorical self-answer as closing
Idiosyncratic scare quotes used to delegitimize opponent framing

Psychological Profile

▶ State

Grandiose State

Trigger: Narcissistic Injury — Comparison (Wall Street Journal and Fox News (via Trey Gowdy))

Rage: Intensity 62% targeting WSJ, Fox News, Trey Gowdy, Joe Biden

Proportionality

25%

Sentiment

+0.12

Mildly Hypomanic

Late-night post (11:32 PM) continuing a high-volume same-day posting series (minimum 5 posts on September 10)Escalating superlatives — each comparison more extreme than the lastSelf-referential grandiosity with exclamatory affect ('THAT'S POPULAR!')Decreased impulse modulation — immediate emotional reactivity to media narrative without measured interval

▶ Clinical

Malignant Narcissism:

Narcissistic

87%

Antisocial

31%

Paranoid

58%

Sadism

22%

Defense Mechanisms:

splittingdistortiondenialrationalization

Cognitive Complexity:

Complexity

31%

Parasocial Techniques:

Collective outrage performance — positions audience as co-victims of media manipulationValidation-seeking via rhetorical self-answer ('THAT'S POPULAR!')Grievance mirroring — RFK injustice used to validate audience suspicions about Democratic rigging

Danger Assessment

None

Gaslighting Detected:

'pushing the narrative' — frames poll-based media reporting as fabricated coordination rather than data-derived analysis
Pre-emptive delegitimization of RFK Jr. primary results as 'rigged' before any votes are cast — reality inversion by anticipation
Positions any media analysis unfavorable to Trump as evidence of bias rather than evidence of polling trends

Reality Distortions:

DNC incumbency-protection procedures recast as 'RIGGING and STEALING Elections' — collapses procedural disadvantage and electoral fraud into same category
90% approval figure presented as established fact without source attribution
Fox News and WSJ described as 'pushing a narrative' implying deliberate fabrication of polling data

Fact Checks (3)

"Trump has a 90% Approval Rating within the Republican Party"

Half True

Republican primary polling in August-September 2023 showed Trump with favorable ratings among Republicans in the 70-85% range depending on pollster and question framing. Some internal or partisan polls may have reached 90% favorable. The figure is at the high end of the plausible range and likely cherry-picked from the most favorable available survey.

"Trump is crushing second-tier candidates by 50, 60, and even 70 points"

Half True

National Republican primary polling in September 2023 placed Trump at approximately 50-57%, DeSantis at 12-16%, with all others in low single digits. The margin over DeSantis was approximately 35-45 points. Against the lowest-polling candidates, a 70-point gap is plausible. The claim uses the most favorable comparison point.

"RFK Jr. is being denied a fair vote count through election rigging and stealing"

Mostly False

No primary voting had occurred at this point; there were no votes to count. The DNC's decision not to hold primary debates and its threshold requirements disadvantaged primary challengers, but these are standard incumbency-protection practices. Characterizing procedural party decisions as 'RIGGING and STEALING Elections' constitutes a gross distortion.

Receipts

No contradictions with other posts detected yet.

Analysis: Truth Social Post — 2023-09-11 (03:32 UTC)

Authorship & Timing

Local time: UTC 03:32 converts to 11:32 PM EDT (Trump was almost certainly at Bedminster NJ in mid-September, or possibly in transition to Mar-a-Lago — both are EDT). This is a late-night post, a strong authentic indicator. The stylistic profile reinforces authenticity: stream-of-consciousness, multiple ALL-CAPS passages, scare quotes deployed idiosyncratically, third-person self-reference ("TRUMP," "45th President Donald J. Trump"), and the climactic rhetorical self-answer "THAT'S POPULAR!" These are signature Trump vocalizations absent from aide-drafted content.

Trigger & Psychological State

The precipitating stimulus is clearly identifiable: WSJ and Fox News narrative, delivered specifically through Trey Gowdy, equating Trump's intraparty standing with Biden's. This constitutes a narcissistic injury via unfavorable comparison — arguably one of the most potent triggers in this subject's profile. The comparison is not framed as a critique but as an equivalence, which is experienced as a status-leveling attack.

The response pattern follows the textbook narcissistic injury → grandiose overcorrection arc: the injury (you are as unpopular as Biden) is met not with modest rebuttal but with a cascade of superlative counter-claims (90% approval, 50-70 point leads, "THAT'S POPULAR!"). The capital-letter exclamation closes the post as a triumphant verdict, signaling not just defense but dominance reassertion.

Narcissistic state: Grandiose, with the brief vulnerable acknowledgment that Fox and WSJ are "pushing a narrative" against him quickly overwhelmed by the grandiose counterpunch.

Defense Mechanisms

Splitting (immature): The post pivots sharply on the word "but." Biden/Democrats = corrupt, rigging, unpopular. Trump = 90% approval, crushing opponents. The binary is absolute — no nuance is admitted. Classic splitting: all-bad other, all-good self.

Distortion (pathological): The RFK Jr. situation is folded into the familiar "RIGGING and STEALING Elections" frame, transforming the DNC's incumbency-protection practices (procedurally questionable but legally ordinary) into evidence of electoral theft, grossly reshaping a mundane political reality to serve an existing grievance schema.

Rationalization (neurotic): The 90% approval and crowd size counter-arguments represent rationalized evidence — cherry-picked data presented as dispositive proof against the offending narrative.

Denial: The core denial here is structural — Fox and WSJ are "pushing a narrative," which denies the possibility that their polling-based analysis has any merit.

Narrative Identity (Level 3 — McAdams)

This post is a contamination sequence rapidly converted to redemption: The narrative begins with external forces (once-trusted media allies) betraying the protagonist, but the subject refuses the contamination arc and forces a redemption frame ("but VERY untrue for TRUMP"). The protagonist role is the misrepresented champion — not merely victorious, but victorious in spite of those who would deny it.

Third-person self-reference ("'TRUMP'") is noteworthy: it positions the self as a historical entity larger than the individual, a brand whose popularity is objectively measurable rather than a subjective claim. This is identity mythologization — the self as institution.

Contrasting other: The adversarial dyad here is layered — Crooked Joe (the legitimate political opponent), and Fox/WSJ (the betrayer-allies, more psychologically resonant because they are supposed to be on his side). The perceived betrayal by friendly media constitutes the deeper wound.

Rhetorical Techniques

Hyperbole/superlatives: "crushing," "50, 60, and even 70 Points" — the escalating numeral sequence functions as rhetorical intensification
False dichotomy: Biden's unpopularity is real; Trump's is not. No middle ground available
Scare quotes as epistemological weaponry: "BOTH," "second tier" — quotes delegitimize the framing being attributed to opponents
Whataboutism/deflection: Introduces RFK Jr. to anchor Biden in the rigging narrative, diffusing direct engagement with the popularity comparison
Rhetorical self-answer: "THAT'S POPULAR!" functions as the crowd-pleasing punchline, providing emotional resolution
Triumphalist capitalization: Multiple CAPS passages signal emotional intensity and performative dominance
Derogatory labeling: "Crooked Joe," "second tier" — status diminishment of opponents
Parasocial mobilization: The post performs outrage on behalf of the audience, positioning them as co-defendants against media manipulation

Cognitive Status

Language complexity is consistent with established Trump baseline. Sentence structure is fragmented but purposefully so — rhetorical fragments rather than syntactic failures. No word-finding anomalies detected. Temporal sequencing is coherent. The numerals (90%, 50/60/70 points) are deployed with precision. No phonemic or semantic paraphasias. Perseveration on the Fox/WSJ grievance is consistent with recent post series (three consecutive September 10 posts attacking the same targets), suggesting thematic rumination rather than cognitive perseveration per se.

Fact Verification

Claim	Verdict	Evidence
"Trump has a 90% Approval Rating within the Republican Party"	Half True	Republican primary polling in August-September 2023 showed Trump with favorable ratings among Republicans in the 70-85% range depending on pollster and question framing. Some internal or partisan polls may have reached 90% favorable. The figure is at the high end of the plausible range and likely cherry-picked from the most favorable available survey.
"Trump is crushing second-tier candidates by 50, 60, and even 70 points"	Half True	National Republican primary polling in September 2023 placed Trump at approximately 50-57%, DeSantis at 12-16%, with all others in low single digits. The margin over DeSantis was approximately 35-45 points. Against the lowest-polling candidates, a 70-point gap is plausible. The claim uses the most favorable comparison point.
"RFK Jr. is being denied a fair vote count through election rigging and stealing"	Mostly False	No primary voting had occurred at this point; there were no votes to count. The DNC's decision not to hold primary debates and its threshold requirements disadvantaged primary challengers, but these are standard incumbency-protection practices. Characterizing procedural party decisions as 'RIGGING and STEALING Elections' constitutes a gross distortion.

Overall Veracity: 40%

Reality Distortions & Gaslighting

The primary reality distortion is the RFK Jr. framing — ordinary party-machine incumbency protection recast as "RIGGING and STEALING Elections," extending the 2020 stop-steal schema into 2024 Democratic primary dynamics. This functions as epistemic inoculation for Trump's base: any future Biden primary victory is pre-framed as stolen. The Fox/WSJ framing positions data-based reporting as fabricated narrative, training audiences to reject unfavorable polling as evidence of coordinated deception.

Danger Assessment

No direct threat language. Standard political attack rhetoric. No dehumanization, no eliminationist language, no stochastic terrorism pattern. The "RIGGING and STEALING" framing contributes to aggregate electoral delegitimization but does not escalate to danger-level content in this instance.