Analysis: RT: https://truthsocial.com/users/realDonaldTrump/statuses/1...

3y ago Oct 5, 2023 at 3:15 PM

RT: https://truthsocial.com/users/realDonaldTrump/statuses/111182093022875461 THIS IS FROM 2018—WITCH HUNT!!

Reposted Oct 5, 2023 at 11:08 AM

The ridiculous A.G. case against me in New York, brought by the Racist and Incompetent Peekaboo James, is being studied and mocked all over the World. Companies are Fleeing! It, and the highly political, Trump Hating Judge, are DESTROYING the Image and Reputation of the New York State Legal System & Courts. I don’t even get a Jury! All of this while MURDERS & VIOLENT CRIME HIT UNIMAGINABLE RECORDS! This is sooo bad for New York. HELP! The respected Commercial Division, where it should have been sent in the first place, must take over this “sh.. show.”

Video transcript 2:06

"America is an uncharted territory. We are angrier and more deeply divided than we've ever been at any point in our history since the Civil War. And at the eye of the storm is Donald Trump, ripping families apart, threatening women's most basic rights, and running for Attorney General because I will never be afraid to challenge this illegitimate president when our fundamental rights are at stake. From the Muslim ban, to efforts to deport immigrants, to denying transgender students the ability to choose whatever bathroom they want, rolling back regulations to protect our planet, colluding with foreign powers, putting profits over people, dividing us in ways we haven't seen in generations. And I believe that he is an embarrassment to all that we stand for. He should be charged with obstructing justice. I believe that the president of these United States can be indicted for criminal offenses. We would join with law enforcement and other attorneys general across this nation in removing this president from office. In addition to that, the office of Attorney General will continue to follow the money because we believe that he is engaged in a patent practice of money laundering, laundering the money from foreign governments here in New York State and particularly related to his real estate holdings. It's important that everyone understand that the days of Donald Trump are coming to an end, but we can only do it if all of you exercise the most fundamental right, a right which is basic to democracy and that is the right to vote. The country at war with itself, you may be wondering what you could possibly do to change it. The answer is simple, everything. And it starts with electing an attorney general who will never back down when Trump or anyone else threatens our rights. So I hope that you will join me on the vote on Thursday, September 13th for quiet dignity and defiance.

Transcribed automatically. Expect errors in names and numbers.

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AI Analysis

Machine-generated analysis of the post above on 2026-03-24. Not written by the author of the post.

Danger Level

None

Narcissistic State

Vulnerable

Authorship

Self-Written

Intensity

44%

Posted at 11:15 AM EDT during the third day of the NY civil fraud trial — one day after Trump dramatically walked out of proceedings — this brief post deploys two compressed rhetorical moves: temporal delegitimization ('FROM 2018') and catchphrase persecution framing ('WITCH HUNT'). The post is a psychologically significant outlier within the same-day corpus: while four companion posts show Trump's characteristic high-output grievance elaboration (lengthy attacks on the trial, AG James, judge, and political rivals), this post is reduced to two sentences — atypically compressed for Trump's baseline output. The compression is consistent with acute narcissistic vulnerability state under sustained trial stress, distinct from the grandiose state visible in companion posts about poll dominance and electoral strength. Defense mechanisms are primarily pathological denial (wholesale rejection of judicial legitimacy) and neurotic rationalization (temporal evidence-age argument). The self-repost structure — amplifying his own content within the same morning — is a RAND Firehose volume technique prioritizing narrative repetition over substantive engagement. Authorship is assessed as likely authentic at medium-high confidence, with the 'WITCH HUNT' catchphrase, ALL CAPS styling, and behavioral context (post-walkout, active gag-order pressure) collectively outweighing the business-hours timing indicator. No danger indicators present; gaslighting is mild, operating via epistemic closure rather than specific reality distortion. The oscillation between grandiose and vulnerable narcissistic states within a single morning posting session is consistent with longitudinal patterns under acute legal stress.

Authorship Analysis

Self-Written

Indicators:

ALL CAPS exclamation consistent with authentic Trump style
Characteristic 'WITCH HUNT' catchphrase — deeply habituated verbal tic
Em-dash usage consistent with authentic Trump posts
Self-repost structure more consistent with impulsive amplification than staff output
11:15 AM EDT local time falls in business hours (mild aide indicator, counterweighed by other signals)

Psychological Profile

▶ State

Vulnerable State

Trigger: Narcissistic Injury — Exposure (NY civil fraud trial ongoing testimony (Bender, McConney; 2018-era financial records))

Rage: Intensity 38% targeting NY civil fraud trial, AG Letitia James, Judge Engoron

Proportionality

18%

Sentiment

-0.78

Baseline Deviation: slight

▶ Clinical

Malignant Narcissism:

Narcissistic

78%

Antisocial

28%

Paranoid

72%

Sadism

Defense Mechanisms:

denialrationalizationprojection

Cognitive Complexity:

Complexity

18%

Parasocial Techniques:

'WITCH HUNT' rallying cry activates in-group recognition and solidarity among followersRepost amplification invites followers to share outrage and validate persecution narrativeALL CAPS signals emotional authenticity and urgency, creating parasocial intimacy of shared outrageTemporal framing ('FROM 2018') extends victimhood timeline, deepening follower investment in persecution mythology

Danger Assessment

None

Gaslighting Detected:

'WITCH HUNT' framing demands audience accept persecution narrative as membership test — those who view proceedings as legitimate are implicitly positioned as naive or complicit
Temporal claim 'FROM 2018' implicitly rewrites the evidentiary reality of the trial, suggesting age of evidence renders it inherently suspect rather than relevant to documented conduct under examination

Reality Distortions:

Characterizes formal judicial proceedings with documented evidentiary basis as politically motivated persecution without substantive counter-argument
Temporal framing implies evidence age is grounds for dismissal — non-sequitur logically, distortion rhetorically

Fact Checks (2)

"THIS IS FROM 2018"

Unverifiable

The NY civil fraud trial (began Oct 2, 2023) examines Trump Organization financial conduct spanning approximately 2011–2021. 2018 financial records and valuations are squarely within the trial's evidentiary scope. The claim that referenced content/video dates to 2018 is unverifiable without viewing the video, but temporally plausible given trial context.

"WITCH HUNT (implicit claim that proceedings are politically motivated rather than legally legitimate)"

False

NY AG Letitia James pursued civil fraud action following documented evidence of asset value inflation across multiple properties. Judge Engoron had already issued a September 2023 ruling finding Trump liable for persistent fraud prior to trial. Characterization as 'witch hunt' is an opinion claim, not verifiable as fact.

Receipts

No contradictions with other posts detected yet.

Post Analysis: ts_111183065581573868

Contextual Framework

This post occurs on day 3 of Trump's NY civil fraud trial (began October 2, 2023), one day after Trump dramatically walked out of proceedings on October 4th. The structure is a repost of his own earlier same-day Truth Social content (ts_111182093022875461) with the brief addendum "THIS IS FROM 2018—WITCH HUNT!!" and an attached video. The video content is not accessible, but given trial context, it almost certainly depicts 2018-era conduct or documents being introduced as evidence.

Authorship Attribution

Local time: 11:15 AM EDT (UTC-4, New York City for trial attendance)

This falls squarely within business hours, the traditional aide-written zone. However, several countervailing signals point toward authentic Trump authorship: the post is a raw reactive comment on his own repost — a structure more consistent with impulsive self-amplification than polished staff output; the "WITCH HUNT" catchphrase is a deeply habituated personal verbal tic; ALL CAPS emphasis is signature; the em-dash usage is consistent with Trump's authentic posts. The trial context (Trump had walked out the prior day and was under active gag-order threat for social media conduct) makes impulsive mid-proceedings posting behaviorally plausible. Confidence: medium-high for authentic authorship.

Multi-Level Personality Framework

Level 1 — Dispositional Traits: The post's emotional register is pure neuroticism facet "angry hostility." Agreeableness is absent — the framing is maximally oppositional to institutional authority with zero conciliation. The brevity stands out against the same-day posts, which show Trump's characteristic high-extraversion verbosity. This compression is atypical and may reflect emotional flooding under sustained trial stress.

Level 2 — Characteristic Adaptations: The dominant motive is power-as-resistance: this is not supply-seeking (no admiration fishing) but agency defense — the reflexive assertion that power is being illegitimately exercised over him. The schema operating is a long-standing persecution template: any adverse legal or institutional action = politically motivated witch hunt. Noteworthy is the temporal schema: "FROM 2018" reveals a belief that evidence age renders it inherently illegitimate.

Level 3 — Narrative Identity: Protagonist role: persecuted martyr. The narrative sequence is contamination — a man of power and achievement relentlessly dragged through corrupt, politically weaponized institutions. The "WITCH HUNT" label is Trump's master narrative signifier, invoking the entire persecution mythology in two words. The 2018 temporal anchor extends the contamination timeline backwards, reinforcing the magnitude of persecution ("they've been coming after me for years").

Level 4 — Clinical Indicators: The post is consistent with acute narcissistic vulnerability state. Unlike the grandiose expansion visible in other same-day posts (e.g., "62 Point lead over Republicans," "MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN"), this post is purely defensive and compressed — a retreat to the most basic persecution cry.

Defense Mechanisms

Denial (pathological): "WITCH HUNT" refuses to engage with the legal proceedings on their substantive terms, wholesale rejecting their legitimacy.
Rationalization (neurotic): "FROM 2018" provides pseudo-logical grounds for dismissal — the unstated syllogism being if it's old evidence, it must be invalid or unfair to cite.
Projection (immature): The framing projects malicious persecution onto legal actors engaged in formal judicial process. No engagement with the specific evidence; the entire proceeding is recast as persecution.

Psychological State and Trigger

State: Narcissistic vulnerability. Distinct from the grandiose state seen in companion posts about poll leads and electoral dominance — this is a brief, reactive, compressed defense posture.

Trigger: Narcissistic injury via exposure. The fraud trial testimony (Bender, McConney, and the 2018-era financials) directly threatens the central narcissistic construct: that Trump is a uniquely successful and honest businessman. Exposure of potentially fabricated asset valuations is an existential challenge to that self-narrative.

Rage: Present at mild-to-moderate intensity. Notably suppressed compared to Trump's typical extended grievance elaboration — the brevity may indicate either constrained context (mid-trial recess) or unusually compressed emotional output under sustained stress.

Rhetorical Analysis

Hyperbole via label: "WITCH HUNT" is a maximalist delegitimizing frame requiring zero substantive engagement.
Temporal framing as rhetorical device: "FROM 2018" implies evidentiary staleness as automatic grounds for dismissal — a non-sequitur logically, but rhetorically effective as persecution amplification.
Repost-as-amplification: Self-retweeting is a RAND Firehose technique — volume and repetition over substantive counter-argument. The amplification of his own content layers the same narrative twice within a brief window.
Catchphrase consolidation: "WITCH HUNT" functions as a closed epistemic loop — it is simultaneously grievance statement, call-to-solidarity, and membership test for followers.

Cognitive Markers

Post is too brief for meaningful quantitative linguistic analysis. No phonemic or semantic paraphasia detectable. Brevity and ALL CAPS may reflect emotional reactivity (compressed output under acute stress) rather than cognitive change. No baseline deviation assessable from two sentences.

Fact Verification

Claim	Verdict	Evidence
"THIS IS FROM 2018"	Unverifiable	The NY civil fraud trial (began Oct 2, 2023) examines Trump Organization financial conduct spanning approximately 2011–2021. 2018 financial records and valuations are squarely within the trial's evidentiary scope. The claim that referenced content/video dates to 2018 is unverifiable without viewing the video, but temporally plausible given trial context.
"WITCH HUNT (implicit claim that proceedings are politically motivated rather than legally legitimate)"	False	NY AG Letitia James pursued civil fraud action following documented evidence of asset value inflation across multiple properties. Judge Engoron had already issued a September 2023 ruling finding Trump liable for persistent fraud prior to trial. Characterization as 'witch hunt' is an opinion claim, not verifiable as fact.

Overall Veracity: 25%

Longitudinal Context

The same-day posts exhibit Trump's characteristic high-output grievance mode (four lengthy posts attacking the NY trial, the AG, the judge, Haley, DeSantis, Biden). This post is a marked exception in its brevity — a single reactive punched-out defense. This oscillation between expansive grievance narration (grandiose state) and compressed persecution cries (vulnerable state) is consistent with the narcissistic state cycling documented across the longitudinal record.

Danger Assessment

Level: None. No targeting of individuals, no violent or eliminationist language, no stochastic terrorism indicators in this specific post. The "WITCH HUNT" framing is consistent with delegitimization of institutions rather than personal targeting.

Gaslighting and Reality Distortion

Mild gaslighting present via two mechanisms: (1) "WITCH HUNT" demands audience accept the persecution framing as a precondition for in-group membership — anyone who views the proceedings as legitimate is positioned as naive or complicit; (2) the temporal claim implicitly rewrites the evidentiary reality of the trial, suggesting evidence from 2018 is inherently suspect rather than relevant to conduct under examination.