# Post ts_111056055534252701

- Post ID: `ts_111056055534252701`
- Platform: Truth Social
- Posted: 2023-09-13T04:55:25.513Z (UTC)
- Deleted: no
- Repost: no
- Canonical URL: https://trump.fm/post/ts_111056055534252701
- Analysis page: https://trump.fm/post/ts_111056055534252701/analysis
- Audio narration: https://static.trump.fm/audio/ts_111056055534252701.mp3 (a synthesized voice reading the post text, not a recording)

## Post text

> DeSanctimonious Poll numbers are Crashing. Is it that he is a not very skilled politician, or perhaps his not so long ago fight against Farmers, Social Security, and MediCare??? Or maybe it’s the lack of loyalty to the man who took the DeSanctus failing campaign, and through a strong Endorsement, got him elected. Whatever it is, few have ever witnessed a drop so fast and so severe. It’s a beautiful thing, isn’t it?

## Engagement

- Likes: 16,600
- Reposts: 3,767
- Replies: 1,183
- Views: unknown
- Metrics collected: 2026-02-01T01:19:51.398Z (UTC)

# Analysis

_Machine-generated by trump.fm on 2026-03-20T08:30:41.369Z (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 is a clinically notable specimen of ego-syntonic sadism in grandiose narcissistic state. Trump openly celebrates a rival's political decline — "It's a beautiful thing, isn't it?" — with no rhetorical softening. The post's psychological center is the kingmaker schema: DeSantis received Trump's sovereign endorsement, incurred a permanent loyalty debt, showed insufficient fealty, and is now justly suffering. Third-person self-mythologization ("the man who...got him elected") elevates Trump to archetypal status within his own sentence — a high-reliability grandiosity marker. The sadism here is ego-syntonic not because it slips through but because it is foregrounded as the post's emotional climax and aesthetic payoff. Defense mechanisms are rationalization (three explanations all serving self-aggrandizement) and devaluation (DeSantis reduced to saved-failure). Authentic authorship is near-certain at 12:55 AM Eastern. Rhetorical structure employs false-alternative questioning and parasocial audience recruitment to make shared schadenfreude a collective experience. No danger indicators, no cognitive deviation from baseline. The post is significant primarily as an unusually clean, undisguised display of pleasure in humiliation — a behavior pattern Kernberg identifies as diagnostically significant precisely because it lacks the ego-dystonic suppression typical of neurotic-range functioning.

# Post Analysis: ts_111056055534252701 — September 13, 2023

## Authorship Attribution
**Verdict: High-confidence authentic Trump**

UTC timestamp 04:55:25 converts to **12:55 AM EDT** (Trump's likely Eastern timezone; he was in New York/campaigning in this period). Classic late-night window. The post exhibits every hallmark of unmediated authorship: the proprietary "DeSanctimonious" nickname, a variant "DeSanctus" (either a mock-diminutive or a genuine orthographic slip — either is stylistically Trump), triple question marks for rhetorical emphasis ("???"), grammatically fractured construction ("he is a *not very skilled* politician"), stream-of-consciousness false-alternative structuring, and a closing parasocial tag ("isn't it?"). No aide would construct this syntax.

---

## Psychological Analysis

### Trigger & State
This post is best understood as **ego-syntonic sadism in a grandiose state**. The proximate trigger is DeSantis's declining poll numbers in the Republican primary — but the psychological function is not mere political commentary. Trump actively savors the suffering: *"It's a beautiful thing, isn't it?"* This is Kernberg's ego-syntonic sadism made textual — pleasure in humiliation stated openly, with no evident shame or suppression. There is no narcissistic injury driving this post; DeSantis is already losing. Instead, Trump is in full grandiose supply-collection mode, harvesting validation from a rival's collapse.

### Narcissistic Dynamics
The post demonstrates a **kingmaker schema**: Trump casts himself as the sovereign force that elevated DeSantis from obscurity ("the man who took the DeSanctus failing campaign...and through a strong Endorsement, got him elected") and whose gift can be revoked. The third-person self-reference ("the man who...") is a high-confidence grandiosity marker — Trump mythologizes himself within the sentence, inserting distance and scale. The implied logic is transactional loyalty: Trump gave; DeSantis owed; DeSantis failed to pay; now the punishment is public and pleasurable.

The **contamination narrative** is clear: DeSantis received the king's favor → showed "lack of loyalty" → now justly suffers. Trump is both narrator and executioner of this mythological arc.

### Defense Mechanisms
**Rationalization** dominates: Trump offers three competing explanations for DeSantis's decline (political incompetence, policy positions, disloyalty) as though systematically ruling out alternatives — but all three serve Trump's self-aggrandizement. The true function is not explanation but consolidation of dominance. **Devaluation** is sustained and overt: DeSantis is reduced to a failing politician saved only by Trump's grace.

### Malignant Narcissism Assessment
- **Narcissistic features**: Grandiosity, entitlement, and interpersonal exploitation are strongly marked. The kingmaker framing exemplifies interpersonal exploitation as schema.
- **Antisocial features**: Contempt for norms of collegial restraint; willingness to publicly celebrate a colleague's suffering.
- **Paranoid features**: Subdued here, though the loyalty grievance motif is a paranoid-adjacent schema ("betrayal by those who owed me").
- **Ego-syntonic sadism**: Most salient element. The closing rhetorical flourish — *"It's a beautiful thing, isn't it?"* — is clinically notable. Pleasure at a rival's downfall expressed not as slip but as highlight. No hedging, no performative regret. This is the post's psychological center of gravity.

---

## Rhetorical Analysis
The post employs **false-alternative questioning** (a rhetorical variant of false dilemma): three offered explanations for DeSantis's decline, each damaging, presented as an open question while the true implied answer is all three. This structure creates the appearance of fairness while delivering a sustained attack. **Labeling** ("DeSanctimonious") is Trump's signature brand-assassination technique — a nickname that implies sanctimony and thus inauthenticity. **Parasocial bonding** via the closing "isn't it?" pulls the audience into shared schadenfreude, making them co-conspirators in the pleasure. **Hyperbole** ("few have ever witnessed a drop so fast and so severe") is characteristic maximalism. No violent imagery, no dehumanizing language, no stochastic terrorism markers.

---

## Cognitive Status
Complexity is moderate-low and consistent with Trump's established baseline for interpersonal/political attack posts. The awkward phrase "he is a not very skilled politician" is a grammatical inversion consistent with Trump's habitual spoken syntax rendered in text — not a novel cognitive marker. "DeSanctus" as a variant spelling bears watching longitudinally (alternate nickname vs. name instability) but is insufficient alone for cognitive flag. **No marked deviation from baseline.**

---

## Fact Verification

| Claim | Verdict | Evidence |
|-------|---------|----------|
| "DeSantis poll numbers are crashing" | **True** | DeSantis declined from approximately 30% in early 2023 to mid-teens in national Republican primary polls by September 2023, a documented and significant collapse. |
| "Trump's endorsement got DeSantis elected" | **Mostly True** | Trump's 2018 endorsement propelled DeSantis from a trailing position in the Republican gubernatorial primary; DeSantis won the general election by approximately 0.4 points. The endorsement was widely credited as decisive in the primary. Overstated as singular cause but substantially accurate. |
| "DeSantis fought against Farmers, Social Security, and Medicare" | **Half True** | DeSantis made remarks about entitlement reform in 2022 that critics characterized as targeting Social Security and Medicare; he subsequently retreated from those positions. Agricultural policy references are less clearly documented. Claims are exaggerated for political effect. |
| "Few have ever witnessed a drop so fast and so severe" | **Mostly False** | Primary polling collapses of comparable or greater magnitude are historically well-documented (e.g., Howard Dean 2004, Rudy Giuliani 2008). DeSantis's decline was significant but characterizing it as historically unprecedented is unsupported hyperbole. |

Overall Veracity: 63%

## Summary
This post is a textbook exhibit of ego-syntonic sadism in grandiose narcissistic state. Trump openly celebrates a rival's political decline — *"It's a beautiful thing, isn't it?"* — with no rhetorical softening or performed reluctance. The psychological architecture is the **kingmaker schema**: DeSantis received Trump's sovereign endorsement, failed to display requisite loyalty, and is now justly punished by the forces Trump implicitly controls. The third-person self-reference ("the man who...got him elected") is a grandiosity marker of high reliability, mythologizing Trump within his own sentence. Defense mechanisms are primarily rationalization and devaluation. Rhetorically, the post employs false-alternative questioning, brand-assassination labeling, and parasocial audience bonding to make shared schadenfreude a group experience. Authentic Trump authorship is near-certain given the 12:55 AM Eastern timestamp, orthographic irregularities, and idiosyncratic syntax. No danger indicators. Cognitive markers are within established baseline. The post is clinically significant primarily as a clean, undisguised specimen of ego-syntonic sadism — pleasure in humiliation stated as aesthetic appreciation.

## Authorship Analysis

**Self-Written** (score: 94%)

### Indicators

- 12:55 AM Eastern time — late-night authentic window
- Proprietary nickname 'DeSanctimonious' plus variant 'DeSanctus'
- Triple question marks for emphasis ('???')
- Grammatically fractured syntax: 'he is a not very skilled politician'
- Stream-of-consciousness false-alternative structuring

## Psychological Profile

### State

**Grandiose State**

**Trigger:** Supply Seeking (DeSantis polling decline)

Sentiment: -0.25

### Clinical

**Malignant Narcissism:**
- Narcissistic: 85%
- Antisocial: 45%
- Paranoid: 35%
- Sadism: 82%

**Defense Mechanisms:**
- rationalization (neurotic)
- devaluation (immature)
- idealization (immature)

**Cognitive Complexity:**
- Complexity: 38%

**Parasocial Techniques:**
- Closing rhetorical question ('isn't it?') recruits audience into shared schadenfreude
- Implied collective witnessing ('few have ever witnessed') positions audience as historical observers of Trump's vindication

## Fact Checks (4)

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

> DeSantis poll numbers are crashing

**TRUE**

DeSantis declined from approximately 30% in early 2023 to mid-teens in national Republican primary polls by September 2023, a documented and significant collapse.

Sources: Multiple national polling aggregates, Q1-Q3 2023

> Trump's endorsement got DeSantis elected

**MOSTLY TRUE**

Trump's 2018 endorsement propelled DeSantis from a trailing position in the Republican gubernatorial primary; DeSantis won the general election by approximately 0.4 points. The endorsement was widely credited as decisive in the primary. Overstated as singular cause but substantially accurate.

Sources: 2018 Florida gubernatorial primary results; FiveThirtyEight 2018 analysis

> DeSantis fought against Farmers, Social Security, and Medicare

**HALF TRUE**

DeSantis made remarks about entitlement reform in 2022 that critics characterized as targeting Social Security and Medicare; he subsequently retreated from those positions. Agricultural policy references are less clearly documented. Claims are exaggerated for political effect.

Sources: DeSantis 2022 entitlement reform statements

> Few have ever witnessed a drop so fast and so severe

**MOSTLY FALSE**

Primary polling collapses of comparable or greater magnitude are historically well-documented (e.g., Howard Dean 2004, Rudy Giuliani 2008). DeSantis's decline was significant but characterizing it as historically unprecedented is unsupported hyperbole.

Sources: Historical primary polling data

Overall Veracity: 63%

## Tags

- ego-syntonic sadism (92%)
- kingmaker schema (88%)
- grandiose state (85%)
- devaluation (82%)
- DeSantis rivalry (90%)
- third-person self-reference (78%)
- parasocial recruitment (65%)
- late-night authentic (94%)
- schadenfreude (90%)
- loyalty norm enforcement (75%)

## That day

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

**Grandiose Baseline Day: Late-Night Putin Validation, Romney Victory Lap, and a 14-Post Link Dump**

A moderately busy day of 27 posts was dominated by self-congratulation and rival-bashing, with Trump celebrating Romney's retirement, mocking DeSantis's declining polls, and attacking Biden over inflation numbers. The most notable moment came after midnight when he cited Putin's criticism of America as validation of his own persecution claims — a rare instance of openly leveraging hostile foreign propaganda. A massive midday burst of shared links, mostly posted by staff, padded the count, while a two-part morning response to a New York Times article revealed disproportionate sensitivity to any suggestion of cognitive error.

Full digest for 2023-09-13: https://trump.fm/date/2023-09-13/analysis

## Citation

- APA: Trump, D. J. (2023, September 13). DeSanctimonious Poll numbers are Crashing. Is it... [Social media post]. Truth Social. trump.fm. https://trump.fm/post/ts_111056055534252701
- MLA: Trump, Donald J. "DeSanctimonious Poll numbers are Crashing. Is it that he is..." Truth Social, 13 Sep. 2023. trump.fm, https://trump.fm/post/ts_111056055534252701. Accessed 9 Oct. 2026.
- Chicago: Donald J. Trump, "DeSanctimonious Poll numbers are Crashing. Is it that he is...," Truth Social, September 13, 2023, archived at trump.fm, https://trump.fm/post/ts_111056055534252701.

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