Post from X (Twitter)

Analysis: Tweet to Mark Cuban (March 19, 2013)

Post Content

.@mcuban Mark, okay with me but don't start your bullshit again!

Context

This is a direct address to Mark Cuban, apparently responding to some interaction or overture. The tone is conditionally accepting but threatening — a classic dominance move establishing that Trump is granting permission from a superior position while issuing a warning.

Timing & Authorship

Posted 5:47 PM ET (Trump likely in NYC). The profanity, confrontational tone, and informal style are strongly authentic. Aide-written posts don't contain "bullshit" or personal feuds.

Psychological Analysis

This is a compact dominance display. The structure "okay with me BUT don't..." frames Trump as the gatekeeper — Cuban needs his approval. The warning ("don't start your bullshit again") references prior conflict and establishes that Trump holds grudges and will retaliate. This is characteristic of narcissistic relational dynamics: relationships are transactional, conditional, and hierarchical.

Defense Mechanisms

Mild splitting evident — Cuban is being sorted into conditionally acceptable category with implicit threat of devaluation. The public nature of the warning serves as a dominance display for the audience.

Rhetorical Techniques

• Conditional acceptance as power move: "okay with me" positions Trump as authority
• Vague threat: "your bullshit" is unspecified, keeping Cuban on uncertain ground
• Public shaming: Addressing this publicly rather than privately maximizes social pressure