Post from X (Twitter)

Post Analysis: Hanukkah Greeting (2019-12-23)

Overview

This post is a brief, formulaic Hanukkah greeting. It is among the least psychologically revealing post types in this corpus — a holiday salutation almost certainly produced by communications staff. Analyzed in isolation, it offers minimal signal. Its value lies in contrast with the surrounding authentic posts and as a data point for authorship methodology.

Authorship Attribution

Location context: On December 23, 2019, Trump was almost certainly at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, having traveled there for the Christmas holiday. Mar-a-Lago operates on Eastern Standard Time (EST = UTC−5). The post timestamp of 01:21:31 UTC converts to 8:21 PM EST on December 22 — a reasonable early-evening window.

While the timing (evening) is not definitively aide-territory, the stylistic profile overwhelmingly signals staff authorship:

• Polished, complete sentence structure with no errors
• Formal diction: "warmest wishes," "commence the 8-day celebration" — stilted but correct
• Includes Melania, standard in official White House messaging (she is rarely mentioned in authentic Trump posts)
• Attached URL suggests coordinated media/image package
• Absence of any personal voice, emotional reactivity, or rhetorical flourish
• Zero ALL CAPS, zero typos

Compare with the adjacent authentic post from the same day ("Crazy Nancy wants to dictate terms… striped away all Due Process" — note the authentic Trumpian typo "striped" for "stripped," plus emotional charge and informal attack language). The contrast is marked.

Verdict: Aide-written with high confidence. Likely drafted by communications staff (Scavino's team or press office) as part of a standard holiday outreach calendar.

Personality Framework (McAdams & Pals)

Level 1 — Dispositional Traits: No meaningful trait signal is extractable from boilerplate greeting content. The post suppresses individual voice by design.

Level 2 — Characteristic Adaptations: The post does reflect a standing agency motive — maintaining political standing with Jewish American voters and signaling alignment with Israel. The decision to issue this greeting (and its framing to include "Israel" explicitly alongside US Jews) is consistent with Trump's documented strategic cultivation of pro-Israel positioning. This is motive-consistent even if the words are not his.

Level 3 — Narrative Identity: No narrative structure is present. There is no protagonist role, no redemption arc, no contrasting other. This is identity-neutral public relations copy.

Level 4 — Clinical Indicators: No clinical indicators are observable or inferable from this text.

Psychological State

This post cannot be used to assess Trump's psychological state at time of posting — it was not generated by him. The surrounding authentic content (Space Force pride, impeachment rage) suggests a markedly activated psychological state during this period, but this greeting does not reflect it.

Trigger: Maintenance — calendar-driven holiday communication. Narcissistic state: Not assessable from this post. Rage: Absent. Defense mechanisms: None observable.

Rhetorical Analysis

Minimal rhetorical machinery is present:

• Goodwill appeal: Standard diplomatic warmth ("warmest wishes")
• Inclusive framing: Addresses US Jews, Israeli Jews, and diaspora globally — maximally broad audience
• Timing signal: Posted as Hanukkah began (December 22 sundown 2019), accurate and timely

No propaganda techniques, dehumanizing language, violent imagery, or manipulation devices are present. This is benign ceremonial speech.

Fact Verification

Overall Veracity: 100%