Analysis: I totally respect that Angelina Jolie has shown such great b...

13y ago May 16, 2013 at 12:56 AM

I totally respect that Angelina Jolie has shown such great bravery in the face of danger - she has really come a long and positive way!

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AI Analysis

Machine-generated analysis of the post above on 2026-02-23. Not written by the author of the post.

Danger Level

None

Narcissistic State

Grandiose

Authorship

Uncertain

Intensity

18%

Trump's May 15, 2013 (8:56 PM EDT) tweet responding to Angelina Jolie's prophylactic mastectomy disclosure presents as prosocial support but carries structurally significant subtext when read against his documented prior criticism of Jolie's appearance (2007 CNN: "she's not a great beauty, by any stretch of the imagination"). The phrase "she has really come a long and positive way" deviates from standard idiom ("come a long way") in a semantically meaningful direction: the insertion of "and positive" implies movement from a prior inferior state, consistent with his earlier negative assessment. The grammatical architecture positions Trump as arbiter ("I totally respect") whose approval confers value—a condescension-from-height maneuver functioning as a backhanded compliment. W Magazine has documented this as part of Trump's recurring "negging" pattern with Jolie. The post represents routine grandiose-maintenance mode with a supply-seeking trigger—associating with a high-salience cultural moment at minimal cost—rather than active narcissistic injury response. Authorship leans authentic (evening post, "totally," non-standard idiom), confidence moderate. No danger indicators; no cognitive markers beyond minor idiom variation consistent with 2013 baseline. The post is mildly notable for illustrating how narcissistic arbiter-positioning persists even in ostensibly supportive content: the subject does not simply admire Jolie's courage—he grants it his approval, from height.

Authorship Analysis

Uncertain

Indicators:

Adverb 'totally' — characteristic Trumpian informalism absent from aide copy
Non-standard idiom 'come a long and positive way' consistent with Trump's phrase assembly
Purely reactive celebrity opinion with no promotional link or schedule reference
Evening post (8:56 PM EDT) — after aide hours, before late-night window

Psychological Profile

▶ State

Grandiose State

Trigger: Supply Seeking (Angelina Jolie NYT op-ed 'My Medical Choice' — May 14, 2013 mastectomy disclosure)

Sentiment

+0.72

▶ Clinical

Malignant Narcissism:

Narcissistic

22%

Antisocial

Paranoid

Sadism

Defense Mechanisms:

rationalization

Cognitive Complexity:

Complexity

22%

Parasocial Techniques:

Arbiter positioning — granting approval as if from authorityCelebrity association — tethering persona to admired figure's moment

Fact Checks (2)

"Angelina Jolie has shown great bravery in the face of danger"

Mostly True

Jolie disclosed a BRCA1 mutation conferring 87% lifetime breast cancer risk and a completed prophylactic bilateral mastectomy in a May 14, 2013 NYT op-ed. Her mother died of ovarian cancer at 56; an aunt also died of breast cancer. The medical community and broader public broadly affirmed the disclosure as courageous. 'Danger' is slightly dramatized but not baseless.

"She has really come a long and positive way"

Unverifiable

Vague comparative claim with no objective standard. Read against Trump's 2007 public criticism of Jolie ('she's not a great beauty, by any stretch of the imagination') and her tabloid past, the phrase implies improvement from a prior negative evaluation in the speaker's estimation. Not independently verifiable as a factual claim.

Receipts

No contradictions with other posts detected yet.

Contextual Background

On May 14, 2013—two days before this tweet—Angelina Jolie published "My Medical Choice" in The New York Times, disclosing a BRCA1 mutation and a completed prophylactic bilateral mastectomy that reduced her breast cancer risk from 87% to under 5%. The announcement generated an extraordinary cultural moment (the "Angelina Jolie Effect"), producing a 795-fold spike in NCI Preventive Mastectomy page views and massive global media coverage. Trump's tweet came approximately 36 hours later.

Critical prior context: In 2007, Trump publicly stated on CNN that Jolie "is not a beauty, by any stretch of the imagination. In terms of beauty, she's not a great beauty." W Magazine has documented his recurring pattern of alternating praise and criticism toward her as "negging." This history is essential to reading the tweet's subtext.

Authorship Attribution

Assessment: Likely authentic Trump (moderate confidence)

Timestamp 2013-05-16T00:56:53 UTC converts to 8:56 PM EDT on May 15 in New York, where Trump was based in 2013. This falls in the evening window—after standard aide business hours (9 AM–6 PM) but shy of his characteristic late-night posting (10 PM+). Style markers lean authentic:

"I totally respect": The adverb totally is a characteristic Trumpian informalism rarely present in polished aide-drafted copy, which favors fully or greatly.
Non-standard idiom: "She has really come a long and positive way!" deviates from the standard idiom "come a long way." The insertion of and positive is syntactically odd and consistent with Trump's characteristic non-standard phrase assembly.
Purely reactive content: Aide-drafted posts typically include links, schedule items, or brand promotion. This is unanchored celebrity opinion—impulsive rather than planned.
Brevity and informality: Unpolished conversational register.

Against authentic: correct grammar throughout, no typos, unambiguous positive tone. Confidence is moderate rather than high.

The Subtext: Condescension-from-Height Architecture

The tweet's surface reads as warm and supportive. Its psychological structure is more nuanced once read against prior public record.

The phrase "she has really come a long and positive way!" performs unusual semantic work. Standard idiom is simply "come a long way." Inserting and positive implies directional movement from a prior inferior position. Given Trump's 2007 public dismissal of Jolie's appearance and her early tabloid history (which Trump likely disapproved of), this phrase encodes: in my prior estimation, she was lacking; I now revise upward.

The grammatical architecture reinforces this: the subject throughout is Trump's own appraisal—"I totally respect"—positioning him as arbiter whose judgment confers value. The respect is granted, not simply observed. This is the characteristic narcissistic stance of the magnanimous authority who bestows approval from height, rather than the stance of a peer acknowledging a peer's courage.

"In the face of danger" elevates a medical decision to heroic register—genuine hyperbole, though Jolie's situation (87% lifetime cancer risk; mother and aunt lost to cancer) does warrant serious framing. The hyperbole here serves supply-seeking rather than threat-inflation.

Psychological Dynamics

Trigger: External high-salience cultural event requiring a public response. This is primarily supply-seeking—associating with a broadly admired cultural moment generates reflected approval at minimal cost, with no narcissistic injury present.

Narcissistic state: Grandiose-maintenance. No threat is activated; the subject is in routine public persona management mode. The characteristic grandiose frame persists even in prosocial content (arbiter positioning, condescension-from-height).

Narrative identity: Trump casts himself as a benevolent public figure of considered judgment who recognizes and publicly honors bravery. The identity claim implicit in "I totally respect" is: my respect is worth something; I have standing to evaluate this.

No rage, no paranoia, no splitting: The post is prosocial in intent and effect. Narcissistic features are subtle and structural rather than florid.

Rhetorical Analysis

Celebrity association: Tethering public persona to a broadly admired moment
Backhanded compliment / negging: Explicit praise concealing implicit prior negative baseline ("come a long and positive way")
Hyperbole: "Great bravery in the face of danger" elevates to heroic register
Sincerity performance: "I totally" signals personal authenticity and investment
Arbiter positioning: Grammatical structure places Trump as judge whose assessment confers legitimacy

Cognitive Status

No markers of concern. The phrase "come a long and positive way" is a minor idiom deviation consistent with Trump's 2013 baseline non-standard phrase assembly. No word-finding difficulty, no perseveration, no tangentiality. Complexity is low but appropriate to Twitter format and 2013 baseline.

Danger Assessment

None. No targets, no eliminationist language, no mobilization signals, no violent imagery.

Fact Verification

Claim	Verdict	Evidence
"Angelina Jolie has shown great bravery in the face of danger"	Mostly True	Jolie disclosed a BRCA1 mutation conferring 87% lifetime breast cancer risk and a completed prophylactic bilateral mastectomy in a May 14, 2013 NYT op-ed. Her mother died of ovarian cancer at 56; an aunt also died of breast cancer. The medical community and broader public broadly affirmed the disclosure as courageous. 'Danger' is slightly dramatized but not baseless.
"She has really come a long and positive way"	Unverifiable	Vague comparative claim with no objective standard. Read against Trump's 2007 public criticism of Jolie ('she's not a great beauty, by any stretch of the imagination') and her tabloid past, the phrase implies improvement from a prior negative evaluation in the speaker's estimation. Not independently verifiable as a factual claim.

Overall Veracity: 65%