# Post x_1344394741031514000

- Post ID: `x_1344394741031514000`
- Platform: X (Twitter)
- Posted: 2020-12-31T02:27:38.000Z (UTC)
- Deleted: no
- Repost: no
- Canonical URL: https://trump.fm/post/x_1344394741031514000
- Analysis page: https://trump.fm/post/x_1344394741031514000/analysis
- Audio narration: https://static.trump.fm/audio/x_1344394741031514000.mp3 (a synthesized voice reading the post text, not a recording)

## Post text

> Watching @FoxNews is almost as bad as watching Fake News @CNN. New alternatives are developing!

## Engagement

- Likes: 0
- Reposts: 49,692
- Replies: 0
- Views: unknown
- Metrics collected: 2026-02-01T01:33:24.794Z (UTC)

# Analysis

_Machine-generated by trump.fm on 2026-03-19T20:06:17.334Z (UTC): a model's reading of this post, not his words. Its psychological terms describe the language, not a clinical assessment of him._

## Summary

This post exemplifies the idealization-devaluation cycle characteristic of splitting defenses. Fox News, Trump's longtime media ally, is being publicly punished for insufficient loyalty during the post-election period by equating it with CNN—the designated out-group media enemy. The trigger is Fox's refusal to fully endorse election fraud narratives, constituting a narcissistic injury of the abandonment type. The "new alternatives" teaser redirects followers toward OAN and Newsmax, outlets offering less editorial resistance. Within the broader longitudinal context of late December 2020—where Trump was simultaneously pressuring DOJ, promoting January 6, and escalating fraud claims—this media ecosystem fragmentation post serves a strategic function: steering audiences toward information environments where reality-testing is minimized. The danger is not in the post itself but in its contribution to epistemic closure during a period of active democratic crisis.

## Psychological Analysis: Fox News Devaluation Post (Dec 30, 2020)

### Timestamp & Authorship
Post at 2:27 AM UTC = 9:27 PM ET (Trump at Mar-a-Lago). Evening posting during typical TV-watching hours. The informal, reactive tone and brief format are consistent with authentic Trump posting while watching television.

### Psychological Dynamics
This post reflects a **splitting** defense mechanism in action—Fox News, once the idealized in-group media outlet, is being devalued and pushed toward the out-group ("almost as bad as" CNN). This is a textbook idealization-devaluation cycle triggered by Fox News's increasing acknowledgment of Biden's election victory, particularly the Arizona call on election night and subsequent refusal to amplify fraud claims uncritically.

The phrase "new alternatives are developing" signals both a threat (loyalty test for Fox) and supply-seeking from outlets like OAN and Newsmax that were providing more unconditional validation of election fraud narratives.

### Narcissistic Dynamics
The trigger is **narcissistic injury via perceived abandonment**—Fox News failing to serve as a reliable source of narcissistic supply by not fully endorsing election fraud claims. The response is punitive devaluation: reclassifying a former ally as nearly equivalent to the designated enemy. This is a loyalty enforcement mechanism directed at both Fox News and his audience.

### Rhetorical Function
The post functions as audience redirection—steering followers toward media ecosystems with less editorial pushback on fraud claims, deepening epistemic closure.

## Fact Verification

| Claim | Verdict | Evidence |
|-------|---------|----------|
| "Watching Fox News is almost as bad as watching CNN" | **Unverifiable** | Subjective opinion, not a factual claim |
| "New alternatives are developing" | **Mostly True** | OAN and Newsmax were gaining significant viewership among Trump supporters in late 2020 |

Overall Veracity: 65%

## Authorship Analysis

**Self-Written** (score: 85%)

### Indicators

- Evening posting during TV hours
- Reactive/informal tone
- Brief punchy format
- Emotional content about media consumption

## Psychological Profile

### State

**Grandiose State**

**Trigger:** Narcissistic Injury — Abandonment (Fox News)

**Rage:** Intensity 40% targeting Fox News
- Proportionality: 30%

Sentiment: -0.50

### Clinical

**Malignant Narcissism:**
- Narcissistic: 60%
- Antisocial: 20%
- Paranoid: 30%
- Sadism: 20%

**Defense Mechanisms:**
- splitting (immature)
- devaluation (immature)

**Cognitive Complexity:**
- Complexity: 30%

**Parasocial Techniques:**
- audience redirection
- loyalty testing
- shared grievance construction

## Danger Assessment

**ELEVATED**

### Indicators

- Redirecting audience toward less editorially constrained media ecosystems during active disinformation campaign about election fraud

### Gaslighting

- Labeling CNN as 'Fake News' without specific claims
- Implying Fox News is now unreliable for reporting factual election outcomes

## Fact Checks (2)

_The model's verdicts from 2026-03-19._

> Watching Fox News is almost as bad as watching CNN

**UNVERIFIABLE**

Subjective opinion, not a factual claim

> New alternatives are developing

**MOSTLY TRUE**

OAN and Newsmax were gaining significant viewership among Trump supporters in late 2020

Overall Veracity: 65%

## Tags

- media-devaluation (90%)
- splitting (80%)
- epistemic-closure (70%)
- audience-redirection (70%)

## That day

_From trump.fm's machine-generated digest of the day, not his words._

**Six Days Out: The Mobilization Call That Changed History**

Trump spent New Year's Eve at Mar-a-Lago issuing a concentrated burst of election fraud claims and attacks on Georgia Republican officials, but the day's defining moment was a six-word all-caps post — "JANUARY SIXTH, SEE YOU IN DC!" — that would become one of the most consequential social media messages in American history. The evening cluster mixed grievance with mobilization, naming specific targets in Georgia while constructing the false narrative that the election had been stolen. The day ended quietly, with no mention of the raging pandemic that had just made December the deadliest month of COVID-19.

Full digest for 2020-12-31: https://trump.fm/date/2020-12-31/analysis

## Citation

- APA: Trump, D. J. (2020, December 31). Watching @FoxNews is almost as bad as watching... [Social media post]. X (Twitter). trump.fm. https://trump.fm/post/x_1344394741031514000
- MLA: Trump, Donald J. "Watching @FoxNews is almost as bad as watching Fake News..." X (Twitter), 31 Dec. 2020. trump.fm, https://trump.fm/post/x_1344394741031514000. Accessed 10 Oct. 2026.
- Chicago: Donald J. Trump, "Watching @FoxNews is almost as bad as watching Fake News...," X (Twitter), December 31, 2020, archived at trump.fm, https://trump.fm/post/x_1344394741031514000.

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