# Post x_377646685125885952

- Post ID: `x_377646685125885952`
- Platform: X (Twitter)
- Posted: 2013-09-11T04:16:00.000Z (UTC)
- Deleted: no
- Repost: no, but it quotes a tweet by @Brock2120
- Canonical URL: https://trump.fm/post/x_377646685125885952
- Analysis page: https://trump.fm/post/x_377646685125885952/analysis
- Audio narration: https://static.trump.fm/audio/x_377646685125885952.mp3 (a synthesized voice reading the post text, not a recording)

## Post text

_Quotes @Brock2120, pasted in quotation marks the way early X retweets were made by hand. The words in quotation marks are @Brock2120's, not his; a reply of his, if any, follows the closing mark._

> "@Brock2120: @realDonaldTrump I remember when Schneiderman was 2nd in command to Patterson on the D side. Can you believe those two?

## Engagement

- Likes: 5
- Reposts: 3
- Replies: 0
- Views: unknown
- Metrics collected: 2026-01-31T23:43:13.281Z (UTC)

# Analysis

_Machine-generated by trump.fm on 2026-02-26T09:07:02.489Z (UTC): a model's reading of this post, not his words. Its psychological terms describe the language, not a clinical assessment of him._

## Summary

On September 11, 2013 — eighteen days after Eric Schneiderman filed a $40M fraud lawsuit against Trump University — Trump amplified a follower's tweet linking Schneiderman to scandal-tainted former governor David Paterson. Posted at 12:16 AM EDT (authentic late-night window), the manual retweet format and integration into a dense celebratory cluster about Weiner/Spitzer's primary defeats confirm authentic Trump authorship. The post's clinical significance lies not in its explicit content but in its function: a targeted devaluation maneuver against an active legal adversary, executed via proxy retweet to maintain plausible deniability. Rather than engaging Schneiderman's substantive fraud allegations, Trump psychologically neutralizes the threat by tarnishing the adversary's character through association. This is a textbook deployment of immature-level defenses — devaluation and displacement — in response to narcissistic injury from public exposure as a fraudster. The day's broader grandiose narrative ("I fought alone and both fell") implicitly positions Schneiderman as the next enemy in the queue. No danger indicators are present. The post is clinically significant primarily as early documentary evidence of Trump's characteristic retaliatory pattern toward legal adversaries, a pattern that would intensify substantially in subsequent years.

## Contextual Background

**Critical framing fact:** On **August 24, 2013** — eighteen days before this post — New York AG Eric Schneiderman filed a [$40 million civil fraud lawsuit against Trump University](https://ag.ny.gov/press-release/2013/ag-schneiderman-sues-donald-trump-trump-university-michael-sexton-defrauding), alleging systematic deception of over 5,000 consumers. This post cannot be read in isolation from that legal threat.

---

## Authorship & Timing

The UTC timestamp of 04:16 converts to **12:16 AM EDT** (Trump's location: New York, September 2013). This places the post squarely in Trump's documented late-night authentic posting window. The old-style manual retweet format — pasting `"@username: tweet text"` as a quoted string — is a characteristic signature of authentic early-Trump Twitter behavior predating universal native retweet adoption. The post is one node in a dense same-night cluster of emotionally reactive tweets celebrating the primary defeats of Spitzer and Weiner, consistent with an extended, self-directed late-night Twitter session rather than an aide-managed communications cadence.

---

## The Psychological Architecture of the Post

### What the Post Is Actually Doing

On the surface, this is merely a follower's retweet. Psychologically, it is a **targeted devaluation maneuver against an active legal adversary**, executed via proxy to maintain plausible deniability. The editorial choice to amplify this specific tweet — linking Schneiderman to David Paterson — is the meaningful act.

**Why Paterson?** Paterson left the NY governorship in 2010 under a cloud of compounding scandals: admitted extramarital affairs, a domestic-violence staffer cover-up allegation, reported gambling debts, and declining under federal pressure not to seek a full term. Associating Schneiderman with Paterson is a guilt-by-association tactic that does not require Trump to directly name the lawsuit or expose himself to defamation risk.

The follower's claim that Schneiderman was "2nd in command to Patterson [sic] on the D side" has historical roots: Schneiderman was a close political ally of Paterson in the NY Senate Democratic caucus, helping Paterson unseat Senate Minority Leader Marty Connor, and later sought (but failed) to succeed Paterson when Paterson departed to become Lieutenant Governor. The characterization of "2nd in command" is an oversimplification, but not fabricated from whole cloth.

### Psychological Trigger

The dominant trigger is **narcissistic injury from exposure**: the lawsuit publicly alleged Trump was a fraudster who deceived thousands of people — a direct assault on his core identity claims of business genius and integrity. Trump's characteristic response to such injuries is not defensive legal process engagement but **aggressive peripheral devaluation** of the injuring party.

### Narcissistic Dynamics

The day's broader cluster — "I fought hard against Spitzer and Weiner, and both lost," "Remember, in the beginning they said it couldn't be done!" — establishes a grandiose state: Trump as lone political force who topples seemingly invincible enemies. This Schneiderman retweet operates within that frame, implicitly positioning Schneiderman as the next figure whose character disqualifies him. The retweet's selection is **supply-seeking** as much as retaliation: Trump performs potency to his audience by displaying enemies in disrepute.

### Defense Mechanisms

**Devaluation** (immature): Schneiderman's capacity to wound Trump legally is psychologically neutralized by associating him with a scandal-tainted predecessor, impugning his character rather than addressing the substantive allegations.

**Displacement via proxy** (immature): By retweeting rather than originating, Trump displaces the attack through a follower's voice. The follower takes formal ownership; Trump takes the political benefit. This is a recurring structural pattern across Trump's early Twitter behavior — particularly visible when targets carry legal or reputational risk.

### Level 3 Narrative

Within this day's redemption narrative — lone fighter, impossible odds, ultimate victory — Schneiderman functions as an implicit future entry in the enemies-who-fell queue. The biographical sequence being constructed is: Spitzer fell → Weiner fell → [Schneiderman falls]. The identity claim is the **reliably vindicated fighter against Democratic corruption**.

---

## Rhetorical Analysis

The rhetorical architecture is minimal but efficient:
- **Amplification by proxy**: Criticism delivered through follower voice provides deniability
- **Guilt by association**: No charges need to be specified; Paterson's cloud transfers by proximity
- **Suggestive rhetorical question** ("Can you believe those two?"): Invites audience to co-construct contempt, creating in-group solidarity around shared negative evaluation
- **Implication without assertion**: The most legally and reputationally safe form of attack

---

## Cognitive Assessment

The post offers minimal original language for assessment — it is a derivative retweet. No cognitive markers are assessable. The complexity score reflects format brevity, not deviation from baseline.

---

## Danger Assessment

No violent imagery, no eliminationist language, no dehumanizing rhetoric, no stochastic terrorism indicators. This is a low-intensity political devaluation maneuver against a legal adversary — characteristic behavior, elevated risk only to the extent it signals ongoing adversarial intentions toward Schneiderman.

## Fact Verification

| Claim | Verdict | Evidence |
|-------|---------|----------|
| "Schneiderman was 2nd in command to Patterson [Paterson] on the D side" | **Half True** | Schneiderman was a close political ally of David Paterson in the NY Senate Democratic caucus — he helped Paterson unseat Minority Leader Marty Connor, and sought (unsuccessfully) to succeed Paterson when Paterson left to become Lt. Governor. However, 'second in command' overstates the formality of this relationship. By the time Paterson was Governor (2008-2010), Schneiderman was a Senate backbencher who had failed to win the leadership role. The claim has a historical basis but is significantly imprecise. |

Overall Veracity: 50%

## Authorship Analysis

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

### Indicators

- Post at 12:16 AM EDT — deep late-night local time, strongly within authentic Trump posting window
- Old-style manual retweet format ('"@username: text"') characteristic of Trump's pre-native-RT Twitter behavior
- Integrated into dense same-night reactive cluster celebrating Weiner/Spitzer defeats
- Engages follower who shares grievance against an active Trump adversary — recurrent authentic pattern
- No polished grammar, professional formatting, or aide-typical editorial voice

## Psychological Profile

### State

**Grandiose State**

**Trigger:** Narcissistic Injury — Exposure (Eric Schneiderman / Trump University $40M fraud lawsuit filed August 24, 2013)

Sentiment: -0.30

**Mildly Hypomanic**
- Part of dense multi-tweet late-night cluster showing elevated affective engagement
- Celebratory, expansive tone across the day's posts — unusual volume for a single evening
- Repeated self-aggrandizing framing across multiple consecutive posts (Weiner, Spitzer, Schneiderman)

### Clinical

**Malignant Narcissism:**
- Narcissistic: 45%
- Antisocial: 20%
- Paranoid: 30%
- Sadism: 15%

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

**Parasocial Techniques:**
- Amplifying follower's criticism to build shared in-group contempt for adversary
- Implicit validation of follower's anti-Schneiderman worldview, strengthening parasocial bond

## Fact Checks (1)

_The model's verdicts from 2026-02-26._

> Schneiderman was 2nd in command to Patterson [Paterson] on the D side

**HALF TRUE**

Schneiderman was a close political ally of David Paterson in the NY Senate Democratic caucus — he helped Paterson unseat Minority Leader Marty Connor, and sought (unsuccessfully) to succeed Paterson when Paterson left to become Lt. Governor. However, 'second in command' overstates the formality of this relationship. By the time Paterson was Governor (2008-2010), Schneiderman was a Senate backbencher who had failed to win the leadership role. The claim has a historical basis but is significantly imprecise.

Sources: https://forward.com/news/151482/schneiderman-gets-used-to-the-spotlight/?p=all; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Paterson

Overall Veracity: 50%

## Tags

- retweet_as_attack_vehicle (100%)
- legal_adversary_retaliation (90%)
- devaluation_by_association (80%)
- trump_university_lawsuit_response (90%)
- Schneiderman (90%)
- Paterson (70%)
- NY_Democratic_establishment (70%)
- grandiose_cluster_node (60%)
- indirect_attack (80%)

## That day

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

**On 9/11 Anniversary, Trump Celebrates Political Enemies' Defeats, Praises Putin, and Targets His Own Investigator**

Trump spent the 12th anniversary of September 11 live-tweeting Obama's Syria speech, celebrating the primary defeats of Anthony Weiner and Eliot Spitzer, and launching repeated attacks on New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman — who had just sued him over Trump University. Genuine 9/11 commemoration was minimal and arrived late in the day, sandwiched between political score-settling and relentless fan engagement. The mood was overwhelmingly self-congratulatory, with Trump casting himself as a lone prophetic voice who predicted his enemies' downfalls. A sustained thread of anger surfaced in attacks on Schneiderman, whom he called a crook, a lightweight, and predicted would be next to fall — transparently retaliating against the man investigating his business.

Full digest for 2013-09-11: https://trump.fm/date/2013-09-11/analysis

## Citation

- APA: Trump, D. J. (2013, September 11). "@Brock2120: @realDonaldTrump I remember when... [Social media post]. X (Twitter). trump.fm. https://trump.fm/post/x_377646685125885952
- MLA: Trump, Donald J. ""@Brock2120: @realDonaldTrump I remember when Schneiderman..." X (Twitter), 11 Sep. 2013. trump.fm, https://trump.fm/post/x_377646685125885952. Accessed 9 Oct. 2026.
- Chicago: Donald J. Trump, ""@Brock2120: @realDonaldTrump I remember when Schneiderman...," X (Twitter), September 11, 2013, archived at trump.fm, https://trump.fm/post/x_377646685125885952.

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