Post from X (Twitter)

Post Analysis: 2019-11-12 — Sean Spicer DWTS Elimination

Post: "A great try by @seanspicer. We are all proud of you!"

Authorship Attribution

Timing: UTC 08:07:37 = 03:07 EST (Trump was in New York, attending the NYC Veterans Day Parade the previous day). 3 AM local time falls squarely in Trump's documented insomniac posting window.

Stylistic markers: Extremely brief, affectively simple, no polished event-language, no scheduling information. The phrasing is casual and paternalistic. No hashtags (unlike the adjacent Spicer DWTS post earlier that same day which included #MAGA #KAG — suggesting that earlier post was aide-composed while this one is spontaneous follow-up).

Assessment: High confidence authentic Trump. The late-night timing and brevity are strongly consistent with his habitual middle-of-the-night social media use.

Contextual Grounding

Sean Spicer — Trump's first and fiercely loyal Press Secretary — was eliminated from Dancing with the Stars Season 28 on November 11, 2019 (the episode aired on Veterans Day). Trump had previously posted a campaign-style call-to-action urging fans to vote for Spicer (#MAGA #KAG), suggesting investment in the outcome. This post, composed at 3 AM the morning after elimination, is the loyalty-reward response.

Level 1 — Dispositional Traits

The post is too brief to show full trait profiles, but salient signals include:

• Agreeableness (in-group): Maximally expressed toward a loyal ally. "We are all proud of you" is warm and affiliative, strikingly different from the surrounding combative impeachment posts.
• Extraversion: Public social validation, performative belonging.
• Neuroticism: Absent here — this is a calm, non-anxious post.
• Low openness/low deliberation: The phrasing is conventional, reflexive, formula-driven ("great try," "proud of you").

Level 2 — Characteristic Adaptations

Motives: Primarily communion-adjacent but driven by a status/power logic. The post publicly rewards loyalty, functioning as a signal to the broader network: loyal soldiers are honored even in defeat. This is less about genuine affective bond and more about maintaining the patronage system. Spicer suffered public humiliation as Press Secretary (the "crowd size" episode); his participation in DWTS extended his public loyalty display, and this post closes that transaction.

Schemas: Self as patron and arbiter of worth. The collective "we are all proud" is notable — Trump does not say "I am proud," but speaks on behalf of an undifferentiated group, positioning himself as the legitimate spokesperson for a community. This is a minor but consistent grandiose schema: he speaks for "all."

Level 3 — Narrative Identity

• Protagonist role: Benevolent patron/father-figure. The tone is paternalistic — "great try" is language used toward children or subordinates who fell short but tried hard.
• Narrative sequence: Neutral-to-redemptive: a loyal soldier fought bravely, lost, but remains honored in the tribe.
• Identity claims: Implicit — "I am the kind of leader who publicly honors loyalty." The post functions as identity maintenance.
• Contrasting other: No explicit enemy here, but the subtext is clear: unlike "disloyal" people Trump consistently attacks elsewhere, Spicer is cast as the archetype of the good soldier.

Level 4 — Clinical Indicators

No clinically significant markers in this specific post. Cognitive output is simple but appropriate to the communicative intent. No word-finding difficulties, perseveration, or confabulation detectable.

Narcissistic dynamics: Mild grandiose features (speaking for "all"), transactional loyalty logic, paternalistic framing. These are consistent with baseline patterns and not elevated relative to Trump's typical output.

Narcissistic state: Low-level grandiose — satisfied patron rewarding a compliant subordinate. No vulnerability, no rage, no injury response visible.

Defense mechanisms: None prominent. Minimal idealization of Spicer ("great and very loyal guy" in the earlier post). No defensive operations required in this post.

Rhetorical Analysis

• Brevity as affirmation: The shortness of the post signals this is emotional and spontaneous, not crafted.
• Collective pronoun ("we are all"): Aggregates community identity under Trump's voice. Minor but consistent use of tribal language.
• "Great try": Performatively generous phrasing — acknowledges defeat while reframing it as effort-worthy. Softens the loss within the loyalty narrative.
• No dehumanization, no violent imagery, no eliminationist language.

Fact Verification

Overall Veracity: 100%