# Post x_1108190837257764900 - Post ID: `x_1108190837257764900` - Platform: X (Twitter) - Posted: 2019-03-20T06:17:39.000Z (UTC) - Deleted: no - Repost: no - Canonical URL: https://trump.fm/post/x_1108190837257764900 - Analysis page: https://trump.fm/post/x_1108190837257764900/analysis - Audio narration: https://static.trump.fm/audio/x_1108190837257764900.mp3 (a synthesized voice reading the post text, not a recording) ## Post text > ....just the large States - the Cities would end up running the Country. Smaller States &, the entire Midwest would end up losing all power - &, we can’t let that happen. I used to like the idea of the Popular Vote, but now realize the Electoral College is far better for the U.S.A. ## Engagement - Likes: 0 - Reposts: 23,957 - Replies: 0 - Views: unknown - Metrics collected: 2026-02-01T01:33:25.069Z (UTC) # Analysis _Machine-generated by trump.fm on 2026-03-17T04:53:25.629Z (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 calm, instrumentally self-serving Electoral College defense triggered by the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact gaining state momentum (~Colorado signing, March 15 2019). Posted at 1:17 AM ET, indicating authentic authorship. The dominant psychological feature is rationalization: Trump inverts his own documented 2012 position (calling the EC "a disaster for a democracy") and reframes the reversal as earned wisdom. The reversal precisely tracks personal electoral interest (2016 EC win despite popular vote loss by ~2.87M), making the "now realize" framing a textbook rationalization structure. Geographic identity politics (Midwest, smaller states as threatened constituency) provide rhetorical scaffolding for coalition maintenance. This post represents sharp affective de-escalation from the March 16-17 weekend barrage (29 rage tweets), suggesting stabilizing narcissistic supply from the Bolsonaro White House visit and public engagements. No cognitive concern markers, no danger indicators, no dehumanizing language. Clinically unremarkable except as a clean specimen of rationalization in service of self-interested position reversal. # Analysis: Electoral College Defense Thread (March 20, 2019 — 1:17 AM ET) ## Context & Authorship **Timing:** UTC 06:17 converts to **1:17 AM Eastern Standard Time** (Washington D.C., where Trump was located following the Bolsonaro White House visit and the Lima, Ohio tank plant trip). This deep late-night posting window is among the strongest single indicators of authentic Trump authorship. No aide posts scheduled content at 1:17 AM. **Thread structure:** This is the second of a two-tweet thread, mid-sentence continuation of the prior post ("With the Popular Vote, you go to....just the large States"). The raw HTML entity `&,` appearing twice (with a comma rather than semicolon, suggesting manual typing) is consistent with authentic authorship. The conversational pivot — athletic metaphor in tweet 1, geographical power argument in tweet 2 — reflects stream-of-consciousness composition. **Probable trigger:** Colorado's governor signed legislation joining the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact approximately March 15, 2019, making it the 12th state to join. This directly precedes the tweet and almost certainly precipitated it. --- ## Level 1 — Dispositional Traits - **Extraversion (assertiveness):** Moderately elevated. Declarative, confident framing ("far better for the U.S.A.") with no hedging. - **Agreeableness (low):** Dismissal of cities as would-be illegitimate power centers reflects low trust and low tender-mindedness toward urban constituencies. - **Neuroticism (angry hostility):** Notably *absent*. Calm, strategic register — markedly different from the weekend's rage-posting (29 tweets attacking Mueller, McCain, SNL). This is maintenance mode, not crisis mode. - **Conscientiousness:** Moderate. The marathon/sprint analogy (tweet 1) is a coherent pedagogical device. No policy depth, but functional argumentation. - **Openness:** Low. Framing a self-serving reversal as principled evolution is a closure mechanism. --- ## Level 2 — Characteristic Adaptations (Motives & Schemas) **Agency motive dominant.** The Electoral College defense is structurally a defense of the specific mechanism that enabled his 2016 victory (won EC by 306–227; lost popular vote by ~2.87 million). The schema at work: institutions are legitimate when they produce favorable outcomes. **Communion motive (secondary, instrumental):** The appeal to "Smaller States & the entire Midwest" is geographic identity-building — communion deployed as political coalition maintenance rather than genuine empathic identification. --- ## Level 3 — Narrative Identity **Protagonist role:** The Evolved Statesman — someone with sufficient wisdom to revise prior views when new understanding emerges. This is a micro-redemption arc ("I used to like…but now realize"), positioning reversal as growth rather than self-interest. **Contrasting other:** Unnamed urban/coastal elite. The "Cities" (capitalized, reified) stand as the antagonist — powerful, hungry, threatening to "run the Country." **Identity claim:** The admission of prior contrary belief ("I used to like the idea of the Popular Vote") ostensibly signals intellectual honesty. The psychological move: *I came to this conclusion against my original instincts, therefore it carries more weight.* --- ## Level 4 — Clinical Indicators **Defense mechanisms:** The dominant mechanism is **rationalization** (neurotic level) — converting transparent self-interest (winning via EC while losing popular vote) into principled civic argument. The prior-belief reversal functions paradoxically to enhance credibility while obscuring the self-serving nature of the conversion. Minor **distortion** (pathological level): "Smaller States & the entire Midwest would end up losing *all* power" — the absolute framing substantially overstates the case. **Narcissistic state:** Mildly grandiose. The "now realize" framing positions him as having arrived at superior understanding. No rage present. Rapid de-escalation from the weekend's extreme volatility suggests the Bolsonaro White House visit provided stabilizing supply. --- ## Rhetorical Techniques The athletic analogy is rhetorically effective: it frames electoral geography as a test of different fitness rather than structural bias. The geographic framing ("Smaller States," "the entire Midwest") is a **false dichotomy** — implying cities and rural/Midwestern states are zero-sum contestants — combined with **appeal to regional identity**. The "we can't let that happen" is a soft mobilization frame casting the speaker as protector. **No dehumanizing language. No violent imagery. No eliminationist rhetoric.** --- ## Fact Verification | Claim | Verdict | Evidence | |-------|---------|----------| | "I used to like the idea of the Popular Vote" | **True** | Trump posted multiple tweets on November 6-7 2012 calling the Electoral College a disaster for a democracy and calling for a revolution after Obama's reelection. His prior preference for popular vote is documented in his own public record. | | "With the Popular Vote cities would end up running the Country" | **Half True** | Under a national popular vote, high-density urban areas would carry greater relative weight than under the current system. However 'running the Country' is hyperbolic; rural and suburban votes would still aggregate to significant influence. | | "Smaller States and the entire Midwest would end up losing all power" | **Mostly False** | The absolute formulation ('all power') is unsupported. Midwestern states contain major cities and substantial populations. Some small states would lose outsized EC influence they currently enjoy, but this does not equal losing all power. | Overall Veracity: 57% ## Danger Assessment **None.** Standard electoral-system argumentation. No targets, no violent imagery, no mobilization language. ## Authorship Analysis **Self-Written** (score: 87%) ### Indicators - Posted at 1:17 AM Eastern Standard Time — deep late-night window strongly associated with authentic Trump authorship - Raw HTML entity '&,' appears twice with comma instead of semicolon, suggesting manual typing - Mid-sentence continuation of prior tweet reflects stream-of-consciousness composition - Admission of prior contrary belief is stylistically consistent with Trump's self-referential discursive pattern - No polished formatting or event announcement content characteristic of aide-authored posts ## Psychological Profile ### State **Grandiose State** **Trigger:** Maintenance (National Popular Vote Interstate Compact gaining state legislative momentum (Colorado signing ~March 15 2019)) Sentiment: -0.10 ### Clinical **Malignant Narcissism:** - Narcissistic: 35% - Antisocial: 10% - Paranoid: 20% - Sadism: 0% **Defense Mechanisms:** - rationalization (neurotic) - distortion (pathological) **Cognitive Complexity:** - Complexity: 42% **Parasocial Techniques:** - Inclusive 'we' construction bonds audience as threatened coalition members - Geographic identity appeal positions Midwest/small-state followers as constituents Trump is personally protecting ## Fact Checks (3) _The model's verdicts from 2026-03-17._ > I used to like the idea of the Popular Vote **TRUE** Trump posted multiple tweets on November 6-7 2012 calling the Electoral College a disaster for a democracy and calling for a revolution after Obama's reelection. His prior preference for popular vote is documented in his own public record. Sources: Trump November 2012 tweets (public record) > With the Popular Vote cities would end up running the Country **HALF TRUE** Under a national popular vote, high-density urban areas would carry greater relative weight than under the current system. However 'running the Country' is hyperbolic; rural and suburban votes would still aggregate to significant influence. Sources: Electoral College structural analysis > Smaller States and the entire Midwest would end up losing all power **MOSTLY FALSE** The absolute formulation ('all power') is unsupported. Midwestern states contain major cities and substantial populations. Some small states would lose outsized EC influence they currently enjoy, but this does not equal losing all power. Sources: Population and electoral data Overall Veracity: 57% ## Tags - electoral-college (95%) - popular-vote (90%) - geographic-identity-politics (80%) - position-reversal (75%) - rationalization (85%) - maintenance-post (60%) - late-night-authentic (87%) - midwest-coalition (70%) ## That day _From trump.fm's machine-generated digest of the day, not his words._ **Late-Night Electoral College Defense Gives Way to Explosive Conway Attack** A quiet day by Trump's standards — just seven posts — was marked by sleep-disrupted late-night tweeting about the Electoral College and a sharp escalation near midday when he publicly savaged George Conway as a "stone cold LOSER & husband from hell." The early hours were spent defending the Electoral College against Democratic reform proposals, while admitting he'd once favored the popular vote. The Conway outburst, provoked by days of Conway publicly questioning Trump's mental fitness, was the day's defining moment and its only real flash of anger. Full digest for 2019-03-20: https://trump.fm/date/2019-03-20/analysis ## Citation - APA: Trump, D. J. (2019, March 20). ....just the large States - the Cities would end... [Social media post]. X (Twitter). trump.fm. https://trump.fm/post/x_1108190837257764900 - MLA: Trump, Donald J. "....just the large States - the Cities would end up running..." X (Twitter), 20 Mar. 2019. trump.fm, https://trump.fm/post/x_1108190837257764900. Accessed 9 Oct. 2026. - Chicago: Donald J. Trump, "....just the large States - the Cities would end up running...," X (Twitter), March 20, 2019, archived at trump.fm, https://trump.fm/post/x_1108190837257764900. ## 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_1108190837257764900 - Analysis as JSON: https://trump.fm/api/analysis/x_1108190837257764900 - All citation formats: https://trump.fm/api/cite/x_1108190837257764900 - Same day: https://trump.fm/date/2019-03-20 - The record alone, without the analysis: https://trump.fm/post/x_1108190837257764900.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`._