# Post x_337989899393306625 - Post ID: `x_337989899393306625` - Platform: X (Twitter) - Posted: 2013-05-24T17:54:06.000Z (UTC) - Deleted: no - Repost: no - Canonical URL: https://trump.fm/post/x_337989899393306625 - Analysis page: https://trump.fm/post/x_337989899393306625/analysis - Audio narration: https://static.trump.fm/audio/x_337989899393306625.mp3 (a synthesized voice reading the post text, not a recording) ## Post text > "People do business with those people they like and trust." - Ralph J. Roberts, Founder of Comcast ## Engagement - Likes: 138 - Reposts: 309 - Replies: 0 - Views: unknown - Metrics collected: 2026-01-31T23:43:13.294Z (UTC) # Analysis _Machine-generated by trump.fm on 2026-02-23T08:24:00.837Z (UTC): a model's reading of this post, not his words. Its psychological terms describe the language, not a clinical assessment of him._ ## Post Analysis: x_337989899393306625 | May 24, 2013 ### Overview A verbatim quotation attributed to Ralph J. Roberts (1920–2015), patriarch founder of Comcast, posted with no original Trump language. Functions as routine brand-maintenance content within a same-day posting cadence that also included additional curated business aphorisms and several authentically Trump-voiced reactive posts. Signal level is very low; the post is clinically insignificant. --- ### Authorship Attribution **Assessment: Aide-written (high confidence)** The 17:54:06 UTC timestamp converts to **1:54 PM EDT** on a Friday — Trump's near-certain location is Trump Tower, New York City, his operational base in May 2013 during Celebrity Apprentice's production cycle. This falls squarely within aide social-media business hours. Structural markers confirm aide authorship: - Polished, error-free formatting with correctly placed attribution dash - No Trump stylistic fingerprints (no ALL CAPS, no typos, no stream-of-consciousness digression) - Complete, grammatically correct construction - Consistent with an evident scheduled queue of motivational business quotes in the same-day history The same-day posting record is diagnostically useful: the curated quotes (*Think Like a Champion*, risk-evaluation advisory, Roberts quote) form a distinct tier from the authentically Trump-voiced reactive posts (Vanity Fair attack, Busey thank-you, trial-victory celebration). This bifurcation — scheduled professional content alternating with reactive personal bursts — is a well-documented pattern in Trump's pre-presidential Twitter operation. This post belongs unambiguously to the former tier. --- ### Psychological Analysis **Signal level: very low** — attributed quotation; no original subject speech to analyze. The *selection* of Roberts as quoted authority carries modest psychological texture. Roberts represents a specific archetype of American business elder statesmanship: a Wharton-educated entrepreneur who built a single cable franchise in Tupperware, PA (1963) into one of the largest media conglomerates in U.S. history through personal relationship-building and long-term institutional integrity. Quoting him positions the Trump brand within this tradition — an implicit claim of belonging among transformative business builders. The chosen aphorism — *"People do business with those people they like and trust"* — performs a subtle self-flattering function. It does not assert Trump's own trustworthiness directly (which would be more characteristically grandiose), but implies his inclusion in the category of the liked-and-therefore-successful. This is a distinctly lower-aggression register than Trump's typical self-promotional output, strongly suggesting editorial aide logic rather than Trump's own narcissistic supply needs driving content selection. **Same-day context note:** The trial victory post (*"Trump wins at trial, calls woman suing him 'horrible human being'"*) confirms active legal conflict on this date. The curated professional quotes may function as deliberate brand-smoothing counterweights — projecting trustworthy businessperson imagery on days when adversarial legal content is simultaneously being broadcast. Whether this was conscious editorial strategy or routine scheduling is indeterminate from available evidence. --- ### Narrative Identity (McAdams Level 3) Quote selection positions Trump within what McAdams would call a *communion-inflected agency narrative*: success derives not purely from power and dominance but from relational warmth and earned trust. This is an unusual register for Trump, who more typically foregrounds agency/power framing. Its presence here is almost certainly editorial artifact rather than authentic self-expression — which itself is informative about the persona the aide team was constructing in this period. --- ### Rhetorical Analysis - **Appeal to authority (proxy):** Quotes a respected business patriarch to claim reflected legitimacy without making a falsifiable first-person assertion - **Virtue signaling by association:** Alignment with Roberts claims the qualities Roberts embodied — integrity, long-term relationship investment - **Indirection:** Achieves brand-positioning function while avoiding direct self-praise that could invite challenge No aggressive, dehumanizing, or danger-flagged rhetorical devices are present. --- ### Fact Verification | Claim | Verdict | Evidence | |-------|---------|----------| | "Ralph J. Roberts is the Founder of Comcast" | **True** | Roberts founded what became Comcast Corporation in 1963, originally named American Cable Systems, later renamed Comcast. He served as CEO for decades and as Chairman Emeritus until his death on June 18, 2015, at age 95. | | "The quoted statement ('People do business with those people they like and trust') was said by Ralph J. Roberts" | **Unverifiable** | Specific quote wording could not be confirmed in publicly accessible sources. Sentiment and framing are consistent with Roberts' widely documented business philosophy emphasizing personal relationships and integrity. Probable origin is his authorized biography 'An Incredible Dream' (William Novak, 2012), published approximately one year before this tweet, but this could not be verified from available sources. | Overall Veracity: 75% ## Authorship Analysis **Aide-Written** (score: 10%) ### Indicators - Timestamp converts to 1:54 PM EDT (Friday, New York) — solidly business hours - Zero Trump stylistic fingerprints: no ALL CAPS, typos, or stream-of-consciousness construction - Polished, error-free quote formatting with correct attribution dash - Consistent with evident same-day scheduled content queue pattern - Bifurcation from same-day reactive posts confirms dual-authorship operation ## Psychological Profile ### State **Grandiose State** **Trigger:** Maintenance Sentiment: +0.35 ### Clinical **Malignant Narcissism:** - Narcissistic: 10% - Antisocial: 0% - Paranoid: 0% - Sadism: 0% **Cognitive Complexity:** - Complexity: 50% **Parasocial Techniques:** - authority citation by proxy - implied self-inclusion in trusted business elite - status association with business patriarch ## Fact Checks (2) _The model's verdicts from 2026-02-23._ > Ralph J. Roberts is the Founder of Comcast **TRUE** Roberts founded what became Comcast Corporation in 1963, originally named American Cable Systems, later renamed Comcast. He served as CEO for decades and as Chairman Emeritus until his death on June 18, 2015, at age 95. Sources: https://corporate.comcast.com/news-information/news-feed/comcast-founder-ralph-roberts-95-dies; https://www.cnbc.com/2015/06/19/comcast-founder-ralph-roberts-dies-at-95.html > The quoted statement ('People do business with those people they like and trust') was said by Ralph J. Roberts **UNVERIFIABLE** Specific quote wording could not be confirmed in publicly accessible sources. Sentiment and framing are consistent with Roberts' widely documented business philosophy emphasizing personal relationships and integrity. Probable origin is his authorized biography 'An Incredible Dream' (William Novak, 2012), published approximately one year before this tweet, but this could not be verified from available sources. Sources: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13617063-an-incredible-dream-ralph-roberts-and-the-story-of-comcast; https://magazine.wharton.upenn.edu/issues/anniversary-issue/a-pioneer-on-cables-frontiers-ralph-j-roberts-w41-hon05/ Overall Veracity: 75% ## Tags - aide-authored (95%) - brand-maintenance (90%) - quote-post (100%) - business-identity (80%) - status-association (65%) - low-signal (95%) ## That day _From trump.fm's machine-generated digest of the day, not his words._ **Lawsuit Victory Fuels 70-Post Twitter Marathon of Triumphalism, Threats, and an Obsessive TV-Writer Rage Spiral** Trump rode a high all day after winning a civil lawsuit against an 87-year-old woman, publicly savoring the defeat and calling her "vicious and conniving." The mood curdled through the afternoon as he defended his bankruptcy record, threatened an anonymous critic with implied legal consequences, and demanded that all online critics be forced to reveal their identities. The evening was consumed by a prolonged, escalating feud with a Modern Family TV writer over ratings -- featuring name-calling, a bogus racism accusation, and repeated dares to accept a monetary "deal." Seventy posts in total made this one of the busiest and most combative days on record, with flattery from supporters eagerly amplified between bouts of hostility. Full digest for 2013-05-24: https://trump.fm/date/2013-05-24/analysis ## Citation - APA: Trump, D. J. (2013, May 24). "People do business with those people they like... [Social media post]. X (Twitter). trump.fm. https://trump.fm/post/x_337989899393306625 - MLA: Trump, Donald J. ""People do business with those people they like and trust."..." X (Twitter), 24 May. 2013. trump.fm, https://trump.fm/post/x_337989899393306625. Accessed 9 Oct. 2026. - Chicago: Donald J. Trump, ""People do business with those people they like and trust."...," X (Twitter), May 24, 2013, archived at trump.fm, https://trump.fm/post/x_337989899393306625. ## For agents - Site overview: https://trump.fm/llms.txt - API specification: https://trump.fm/openapi.json - MCP server: https://trump.fm/mcp (search and fetch tools, no auth) - This post as JSON: https://trump.fm/api/posts/x_337989899393306625 - Analysis as JSON: https://trump.fm/api/analysis/x_337989899393306625 - All citation formats: https://trump.fm/api/cite/x_337989899393306625 - Same day: https://trump.fm/date/2013-05-24 - The record alone, without the analysis: https://trump.fm/post/x_337989899393306625.md?analysis=false _Markdown view of a trump.fm page. Post, analysis, date, feed, contradictions, search and about pages answer in markdown at their URL with `.md` appended (`/index.md` for the home page), or when sent `Accept: text/markdown`._