# Post x_1027892043908046849 - Post ID: `x_1027892043908046849` - Platform: X (Twitter) - Posted: 2018-08-10T12:18:55.000Z (UTC) - Deleted: no - Repost: no - Canonical URL: https://trump.fm/post/x_1027892043908046849 - Analysis page: https://trump.fm/post/x_1027892043908046849/analysis - Audio narration: https://static.trump.fm/audio/x_1027892043908046849.mp3 (a synthesized voice reading the post text, not a recording) ## Post text > The NFL players are at it again - taking a knee when they should be standing proudly for the National Anthem. Numerous players, from different teams, wanted to show their “outrage” at something that most of them are unable to define. They make a fortune doing what they love...... ## Engagement - Likes: 111,461 - Reposts: 25,476 - Replies: 0 - Views: unknown - Metrics collected: 2026-01-31T23:43:13.399Z (UTC) # Analysis _Machine-generated by trump.fm on 2026-03-15T18:46:11.889Z (UTC): a model's reading of this post, not his words. Its psychological terms describe the language, not a clinical assessment of him._ ## Summary A maintenance-mode post revisiting Trump's most reliable cultural grievance: NFL players kneeling during the National Anthem. Authentic Trump authorship is highly probable (8:18 AM EDT at Bedminster, trailing ellipsis, stream-of-consciousness style). The psychological state is grandiose rather than wounded — contemptuous dismissal rather than narcissistic injury. Three rhetorically significant moves: (1) the scare quotes around "outrage" deny the authenticity of players' emotional and political concerns; (2) "unable to define" is a devaluing false claim — players had extensively documented their concerns about anti-Black police violence; (3) "they make a fortune" deploys a rationalization that wealth disqualifies protest, a logically fallacious but politically potent move. Defense mechanisms include devaluation, splitting, rationalization, and displacement (the post never names the underlying cause — police brutality — at any point). Danger level is elevated but not critical: no eliminationist language, but the post contributes to a sustained rhetorical campaign delegitimizing racial justice protest, which carries structural risk. The post exemplifies the King/Order Defender archetype: Trump positions himself as enforcer of patriotic ritual against disruptive subjects. The DARVO pattern is latent: powerful president attacking private citizens' silent protest while framing himself as defender of something under assault. # Psychological Analysis: NFL Kneeling Post — August 10, 2018 ## Authorship Attribution **Verdict: High confidence authentic Trump.** UTC timestamp 12:18:55 converts to approximately 8:18 AM EDT. In August 2018, Trump was almost certainly at Bedminster, NJ (his customary August retreat). Early-to-mid morning tweets are a well-documented Trump pattern. Stylistic indicators strongly confirm authenticity: the trailing ellipsis chain ("......") representing an unfinished thought is a signature Trump tic; scare quotes around "outrage" signal contemptuous sarcasm; the sentence structure is stream-of-consciousness; the thought trails off without resolution. Aide-written posts do not trail off mid-sentence. --- ## Personality (McAdams & Pals Multi-Level Framework) ### Level 1: Dispositional Traits - **Agreeableness (very low):** The post is contemptuous, dismissive, and mocking. No acknowledgment of legitimate grievance. The phrase "unable to define" is a devaluing attack on players' intelligence and sincerity. - **Extraversion (high):** Assertive, dominant, occupying discursive space on a cultural flashpoint. - **Openness (very low):** Rigid patriotic values framing. The binary "taking a knee / standing proudly" admits no nuance. - **Neuroticism — Angry Hostility (elevated):** The "at it again" construction signals perseverative irritation and grievance-holding. This is the fourth or fifth iteration of this theme, suggesting grudge-based fixation. - **Conscientiousness (low):** Impulsive, unedited, trailing off mid-thought. ### Level 2: Characteristic Adaptations (Motives & Schemas) **Agency motives dominate.** The post is fundamentally about hierarchy: who has the right to define proper conduct during a national ritual. Trump positions himself as arbiter of patriotic authenticity. The schema at work: athletes are guests in a spectacle; they owe deference to national symbols and, implicitly, to the norms Trump represents. Their exercise of agency (kneeling) is experienced as insubordination rather than expression. **Communion motives are conspicuously absent.** The racial justice concerns underlying the protests — police brutality against Black Americans — are not named, acknowledged, or engaged. They are actively evacuated from the frame. ### Level 3: Narrative Identity - **Protagonist role:** Cultural enforcer / guardian of patriotic order. - **Contrasting other:** Wealthy, ungrateful athletes who disrespect the nation. - **Contamination sequence:** The NFL (once a pure entertainment spectacle) has been contaminated by political protest. - **Identity claims:** Implicit claim to speak for "real Americans" who stand for the anthem. - **Redemption absent:** No arc toward resolution; this is a grievance maintenance post, not a comeback narrative. --- ## Clinical Analysis ### Malignant Narcissism (Kernberg) **Narcissistic features (moderate-high):** The dismissal of players' articulated concerns as something "most of them are unable to define" is a classic entitlement + devaluation cluster. The speaker positions himself as cognitively superior to the protesters without engaging the substance. The appeal to financial success ("make a fortune") is a narcissistic "you should be grateful" schema — suffering and protest are incompatible with material success in this world-view. **Antisocial features (moderate):** Flagrant disregard for the safety concerns (police brutality) motivating the protest. No remorse, no curiosity, no engagement with the harm being reported. **Paranoid features (low-moderate):** "At it again" suggests an ongoing persecution narrative — the NFL/players are recurring antagonists. **Ego-syntonic sadism (mild-moderate):** The scare quotes around "outrage" and the "unable to define" dismissal carry a contemptuous pleasure in belittling. The trailing ellipsis is not regretful; it implies the critique is so obvious it needs no completion. ### Trigger Analysis This is a **maintenance + supply-seeking** post. No specific triggering event in the provided historian record. Preseason 2018 NFL games were resuming; players continued their protests. Trump returns to this theme repeatedly — it reliably galvanizes his base. The repetition ("at it again") signals that this is a maintained grievance, not a fresh injury. **Narcissistic state: Grandiose.** Contemptuous, dismissive, not wounded. The subject holds the dominant frame; the players are beneath serious engagement. ### Defense Mechanisms 1. **Devaluation (immature):** "Unable to define" reduces complex racial justice arguments to incoherence without engaging them. 2. **Rationalization (neurotic):** "They make a fortune doing what they love" serves as pseudo-logic for why protest is illegitimate — economic privilege supposedly negates political grievance. 3. **Splitting (immature):** Binary "taking a knee / standing proudly" forecloses any middle position. There is no conceptual space for "standing for the anthem AND supporting racial justice." 4. **Displacement (neurotic):** The post does not name the underlying grievance (anti-Black police violence). The emotional register is redirected toward the performative act (kneeling) and away from the cause. --- ## Rhetorical Analysis - **False dichotomy:** Stand proudly OR take a knee. No alternative framings permitted. - **Ad hominem:** Attack on the players' intelligence ("unable to define") and implicitly their character (ingratitude). - **Appeal to patriotism/nationalism:** The National Anthem as sacred object; desecration framing. - **Delegitimization by affluence:** "They make a fortune" — wealth disqualifies protest. This is a rhetorically potent but logically fallacious move. - **Scare quotes:** "Outrage" in quotes signals performative contempt — the players' emotional state is inauthentic theater. - **Trailing ellipsis as rhetorical device:** The unfinished thought invites the audience to complete it themselves ("...and yet they disrespect the flag"), creating parasocial participation. - **No dehumanizing language** at a clinical threshold — this post stops short of eliminationist rhetoric. - **No violent imagery.** --- ## Gaslighting & Reality Distortion Mild gaslighting present: The claim that players are "unable to define" their outrage is a fabrication designed to preempt the substance of their articulated concerns. Colin Kaepernick and others had extensively documented their reasoning. The post implicitly denies the existence of that articulation. --- ## Cognitive Status Markers Within normal range for this subject's established baseline. The trailing ellipsis is a consistent stylistic feature, not evidence of thought disorganization. Syntax is simple but coherent. No word-finding difficulty, paraphasia, or temporal confusion detectable. No marked deviation from 2018 baseline. --- ## Fact Verification | Claim | Verdict | Evidence | |-------|---------|----------| | "Numerous players, from different teams, wanted to show their outrage" | **True** | Multiple players across franchises continued kneeling protests during 2018 preseason, consistent with prior seasons | | "They make a fortune doing what they love" | **Mostly True** | Median NFL salary approximately $860K in 2018 for active roster players; accurate as generalization for visible starters but misleads by ignoring practice squad earners and short career spans | | "Most of them are unable to define [their outrage]" | **False** | Colin Kaepernick and numerous other players had publicly, repeatedly, and extensively documented their protest rationale — opposition to police brutality and racial injustice against Black Americans — in press conferences, social media, and published statements | Overall Veracity: 60% ## Danger Assessment **Level: Elevated (not high/critical).** No direct violent imagery or eliminationist language. However, the consistent delegitimization and mocking of Black athletes' protests about anti-Black violence, combined with Trump's massive platform, contributes to a normalized contempt for racial justice concerns. The post functions within a broader rhetorical campaign to discredit the underlying cause. The danger is structural/cultural rather than direct incitement. --- ## Archetypal / Order-Chaos Analysis Trump occupies the **Order Defender** and implicitly **King/Tyrant** archetypes here. The National Anthem is the symbol of legitimate order; kneeling disrupts it. Trump speaks as the defender of sacred ritual. The players occupy the **Trickster** role in his narrative — disrupting the established spectacle, breaking the rules of the performance contract. However, Trump's framing inverts the actual power dynamic: the protesters are relatively powerless individuals; Trump is the sitting president attacking private citizens for a silent act of conscience. This inversion is characteristic of the **DARVO** pattern (Deny, Attack, Reverse Victim and Offender) at a societal scale. ## Authorship Analysis **Self-Written** (score: 87%) ### Indicators - Trailing ellipsis chain ('......') — signature Trump stylistic tic - Scare quotes around 'outrage' — contemptuous sarcasm pattern - Thought trails off mid-sentence without resolution - Stream-of-consciousness, unpolished syntax - 8:18 AM EDT at Bedminster — early morning tweet in authentic window ## Psychological Profile ### State **Grandiose State** **Trigger:** Maintenance (NFL preseason protest resumption) Sentiment: -0.62 ### Clinical **Malignant Narcissism:** - Narcissistic: 68% - Antisocial: 38% - Paranoid: 28% - Sadism: 42% **Defense Mechanisms:** - devaluation (immature) - rationalization (neurotic) - splitting (immature) - displacement (neurotic) **Cognitive Complexity:** - Complexity: 32% **Parasocial Techniques:** - Trailing ellipsis invites audience to complete contemptuous thought - Shared grievance framing ('at it again') assumes audience shares irritation - Patriotic binary positions audience as fellow enforcers of national ritual ## Danger Assessment **ELEVATED** ### Indicators - Sustained delegitimization of racial justice protest by sitting head of state contributes to structural normalization of contempt for anti-racism movements - Repeated pattern ('at it again') signals ongoing campaign rather than isolated comment - Delegitimization-by-affluence schema undermines the substantive claim about police violence ### Gaslighting - 'Most of them are unable to define' — erases extensive documented public articulation of protest rationale by Kaepernick and others - Scare quotes around 'outrage' deny authenticity of protesters' emotional and political concerns - Implicit DARVO: frames protesters as attackers of national values while president attacks private citizens ## Fact Checks (3) _The model's verdicts from 2026-03-15._ > Numerous players, from different teams, wanted to show their outrage **TRUE** Multiple players across franchises continued kneeling protests during 2018 preseason, consistent with prior seasons Sources: General knowledge — NFL 2018 preseason > They make a fortune doing what they love **MOSTLY TRUE** Median NFL salary approximately $860K in 2018 for active roster players; accurate as generalization for visible starters but misleads by ignoring practice squad earners and short career spans Sources: General sports compensation knowledge > Most of them are unable to define [their outrage] **FALSE** Colin Kaepernick and numerous other players had publicly, repeatedly, and extensively documented their protest rationale — opposition to police brutality and racial injustice against Black Americans — in press conferences, social media, and published statements Sources: General knowledge — Kaepernick public statements 2016-2018 Overall Veracity: 60% ## Tags - NFL protest (100%) - racial justice delegitimization (90%) - patriotism framing (85%) - devaluation (80%) - maintenance post (75%) - grandiose state (75%) - authentic authorship (87%) - gaslighting (70%) ## That day _From trump.fm's machine-generated digest of the day, not his words._ **Bedminster Morning Pivot: Legal Anxiety Displaced Into Culture Wars, Tariff Dominance, and Celebrity Validation** Trump spent a moderately active day at his Bedminster golf club, opening with a brief flicker of defensiveness about the Russia investigation before quickly pivoting to more comfortable ground. He attacked NFL players for kneeling during the anthem, doubled tariffs on Turkey, mocked Nancy Pelosi, and wrapped up the evening celebrating Kanye West's support and upcoming trade deals. The overall mood was confident and combative — a president performing strength across multiple fronts while the Manafort trial quietly played out in the background. Full digest for 2018-08-10: https://trump.fm/date/2018-08-10/analysis ## Citation - APA: Trump, D. J. (2018, August 10). The NFL players are at it again - taking a knee... [Social media post]. X (Twitter). trump.fm. https://trump.fm/post/x_1027892043908046849 - MLA: Trump, Donald J. "The NFL players are at it again - taking a knee when they..." X (Twitter), 10 Aug. 2018. trump.fm, https://trump.fm/post/x_1027892043908046849. Accessed 24 Oct. 2026. - Chicago: Donald J. Trump, "The NFL players are at it again - taking a knee when they...," X (Twitter), August 10, 2018, archived at trump.fm, https://trump.fm/post/x_1027892043908046849. ## For agents - Site overview: https://trump.fm/llms.txt - API specification: https://trump.fm/openapi.json - MCP server: https://trump.fm/mcp (search and fetch tools, no auth) - This post as JSON: https://trump.fm/api/posts/x_1027892043908046849 - Analysis as JSON: https://trump.fm/api/analysis/x_1027892043908046849 - All citation formats: https://trump.fm/api/cite/x_1027892043908046849 - Same day: https://trump.fm/date/2018-08-10 - The record alone, without the analysis: https://trump.fm/post/x_1027892043908046849.md?analysis=false _Markdown view of a trump.fm page. Post, analysis, date, feed, contradictions, search and about pages answer in markdown at their URL with `.md` appended (`/index.md` for the home page), or when sent `Accept: text/markdown`._