# Post x_837996746236182529

- Post ID: `x_837996746236182529`
- Platform: X (Twitter)
- Posted: 2017-03-04T12:02:48.000Z (UTC)
- Deleted: no
- Repost: no
- Canonical URL: https://trump.fm/post/x_837996746236182529
- Analysis page: https://trump.fm/post/x_837996746236182529/analysis
- Audio narration: https://static.trump.fm/audio/x_837996746236182529.mp3 (a synthesized voice reading the post text, not a recording)

## Post text

> How low has President Obama gone to tapp my phones during the very sacred election process. This is Nixon/Watergate. Bad (or sick) guy!

## Engagement

- Likes: 162,336
- Reposts: 52,836
- Replies: 0
- Views: unknown
- Metrics collected: 2026-01-31T23:43:13.391Z (UTC)

# Analysis

_Machine-generated by trump.fm on 2026-03-11T10:16:22.809Z (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 is the culmination of a six-tweet early-morning tweetstorm making baseless accusations that President Obama wiretapped Trump Tower. Triggered by the narcissistic injury of AG Sessions' recusal from the Russia investigation two days prior, the tweetstorm represents a textbook DARVO response: deny wrongdoing, attack the accuser (recast as Obama), and reverse victim/offender roles. The psychological dynamics are clinically significant. The rage response is grossly disproportionate — fabricating a presidential scandal equivalent to Watergate based on a talk radio segment. Defense mechanisms are predominantly immature-to-pathological: projection (accusing others of surveillance misconduct while under investigation), distortion (elevating unverified claims to Watergate-level scandal), and splitting (all-bad characterization of Obama). The paranoid features are prominent, with Trump constructing a conspiracy narrative involving illegal presidential surveillance without evidence. The mixed narcissistic state combines grandiose self-importance (worthy target of presidential conspiracy, "sacred" election) with vulnerable victimhood. The misspelling "tapp" and early-morning timing confirm authentic authorship during a state of emotional dysregulation. Intelligence officials and congressional leaders from both parties later debunked these claims entirely. This tweetstorm successfully shifted media attention from Sessions/Russia to the wiretapping allegations — suggesting the defensive strategy, however psychologically driven, was also tactically effective.

## Psychological Analysis: "How low has President Obama gone to tapp my phones..."

### Context
This is the sixth in a rapid-fire tweetstorm on the morning of March 4, 2017, all centered on the accusation that President Obama wiretapped Trump Tower. Trump was at Mar-a-Lago (EST, UTC-5), making this approximately 7:02 AM — early morning, consistent with his known pattern of early-morning reactive tweeting. The misspelling "tapp" and the raw emotional quality confirm authenticity.

### Trigger Analysis
The Sessions recusal two days prior was a significant narcissistic injury — a member of Trump's inner circle publicly validating the Russia investigation's legitimacy. This tweetstorm represents a classic counterattack: deflect from Sessions/Russia by creating a new, bigger scandal implicating Obama. The Breitbart article sourcing these claims (from radio host Mark Levin) was reportedly consumed by Trump the evening before.

### Psychological Dynamics
The escalation across the tweetstorm is notable. This final tweet reaches maximum intensity: comparing Obama to Nixon, calling him "Bad (or sick) guy!" The parenthetical "(or sick)" is a characteristic Trump device — planting an insinuation while maintaining deniability. It implies mental illness or corruption while technically hedging.

The phrase "very sacred election process" is striking — Trump rarely uses religious/reverential language about democratic institutions. Here it serves to maximize the severity of the alleged transgression rather than reflect genuine institutional reverence.

### Defense Mechanisms
The entire tweetstorm is a textbook example of **projection** (accusing others of surveillance/misconduct while under investigation himself) and **DARVO** (Deny wrongdoing regarding Russia, Attack Obama, Reverse Victim and Offender by casting himself as the surveilled victim). The Nixon/Watergate comparison is **distortion** — grossly reshaping an unverified claim into an equivalence with the most famous presidential scandal in American history.

### Rhetorical Analysis
The post employs several propaganda techniques: false equivalence (Nixon/Watergate), appeal to sanctity ("very sacred"), ad hominem ("Bad (or sick) guy!"), and the firehose model — six tweets in rapid succession creating an overwhelming counter-narrative. The parenthetical hedge is a form of innuendo that plants suspicion while maintaining plausible deniability.

### Cognitive Note
The misspelling "tapp" (double-p) is notable but consistent with rapid, emotionally-driven typing rather than cognitive decline. Trump was 70 and tweeting from a phone early in the morning. The syntax is coherent and the argument, while factually baseless, is logically structured within its false premises.

## Fact Verification

| Claim | Verdict | Evidence |
|-------|---------|----------|
| "Obama tapped my phones during the election process" | **False** | FBI Director Comey, NSA Director Rogers, and congressional intelligence leaders from both parties confirmed no evidence of Obama ordering wiretapping of Trump Tower. DOJ found no evidence supporting the claim. |
| "This is Nixon/Watergate" | **False** | Watergate involved proven criminal conspiracy directed by the president. No evidence exists that Obama ordered surveillance of Trump. The comparison is factually baseless. |

Overall Veracity: 0%

## Authorship Analysis

**Self-Written** (score: 97%)

### Indicators

- Misspelling 'tapp'
- 7:02 AM local time (early morning Mar-a-Lago)
- Raw emotional tone with exclamation marks
- Stream-of-consciousness escalation across tweetstorm
- Parenthetical hedge '(or sick)' is signature Trump device

## Psychological Profile

### State

**Mixed State**

**Trigger:** Narcissistic Injury — Exposure (Jeff Sessions recusal validating Russia investigation)

**Rage:** Intensity 80% targeting Barack Obama
- Proportionality: 10%

Sentiment: -0.85

Baseline Deviation: slight

**Moderately Hypomanic**
- Six rapid-fire tweets on single topic starting early morning
- Escalating grandiosity of claims across tweetstorm
- Decreased need for sleep implied by early morning posting
- Pressured quality to output

### Clinical

**Malignant Narcissism:**
- Narcissistic: 80%
- Antisocial: 50%
- Paranoid: 80%
- Sadism: 30%

**Defense Mechanisms:**
- projection (immature)
- distortion (pathological)
- splitting (immature)

**Cognitive Complexity:**
- Complexity: 50%

Cognitive Markers:
- perseveration

**Parasocial Techniques:**
- shared outrage framing
- implicit call to followers to validate persecution narrative

## Danger Assessment

**ELEVATED**

### Indicators

- Former president falsely accused of felony by sitting president
- Delegitimization of law enforcement/intelligence institutions
- Persecution narrative could mobilize supporter aggression toward perceived conspirators

### Gaslighting

- Stating unverified accusation as established fact ('Just found out')
- DARVO: reversing who is investigating whom
- Creating false equivalence with Watergate to reframe narrative
- Attacking perception of reality — reframing legitimate investigation as persecution

## Fact Checks (2)

_The model's verdicts from 2026-03-11._

> Obama tapped my phones during the election process

**FALSE**

FBI Director Comey, NSA Director Rogers, and congressional intelligence leaders from both parties confirmed no evidence of Obama ordering wiretapping of Trump Tower. DOJ found no evidence supporting the claim.

Sources: FBI/DOJ statements March 2017; House and Senate Intelligence Committee findings

> This is Nixon/Watergate

**FALSE**

Watergate involved proven criminal conspiracy directed by the president. No evidence exists that Obama ordered surveillance of Trump. The comparison is factually baseless.

Sources: Historical record

Overall Veracity: 0%

## Tags

- wiretapping accusation (100%)
- DARVO (95%)
- persecution narrative (90%)
- Obama devaluation (85%)
- Russia deflection (90%)
- paranoid features (80%)

## That day

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

**The Wiretapping Fabrication: A Saturday Morning Conspiracy Is Born at Mar-a-Lago**

Trump spent a single early-morning window at Mar-a-Lago firing off one of his most consequential tweet storms — falsely accusing President Obama of illegally wiretapping Trump Tower before the election. The barrage began with a defensive post about Jeff Sessions' Russian ambassador meeting, then rapidly escalated into full-blown conspiracy fabrication, comparing Obama to Nixon and calling him a "bad (or sick) guy." The mood was agitated and paranoid, driven by the sting of Sessions' recusal from the Russia investigation days earlier. After the storm passed, Trump pivoted abruptly to mocking Arnold Schwarzenegger's Apprentice ratings — a jarring tonal shift suggesting the emotional pressure had vented.

Full digest for 2017-03-04: https://trump.fm/date/2017-03-04/analysis

## Citation

- APA: Trump, D. J. (2017, March 4). How low has President Obama gone to tapp my... [Social media post]. X (Twitter). trump.fm. https://trump.fm/post/x_837996746236182529
- MLA: Trump, Donald J. "How low has President Obama gone to tapp my phones during..." X (Twitter), 4 Mar. 2017. trump.fm, https://trump.fm/post/x_837996746236182529. Accessed 9 Oct. 2026.
- Chicago: Donald J. Trump, "How low has President Obama gone to tapp my phones during...," X (Twitter), March 4, 2017, archived at trump.fm, https://trump.fm/post/x_837996746236182529.

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