# Post x_861550676505219073

- Post ID: `x_861550676505219073`
- Platform: X (Twitter)
- Posted: 2017-05-08T11:57:42.000Z (UTC)
- Deleted: no
- Repost: no
- Canonical URL: https://trump.fm/post/x_861550676505219073
- Analysis page: https://trump.fm/post/x_861550676505219073/analysis
- Audio narration: https://static.trump.fm/audio/x_861550676505219073.mp3 (a synthesized voice reading the post text, not a recording)

## Post text

> General Flynn was given the highest security clearance by the Obama Administration - but the Fake News seldom likes talking about that.

## Engagement

- Likes: 59,930
- Reposts: 16,501
- Replies: 0
- Views: unknown
- Metrics collected: 2026-01-31T23:43:13.390Z (UTC)

# Analysis

_Machine-generated by trump.fm on 2026-03-11T12:36:00.342Z (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 exemplifies Trump's characteristic deflection pattern following narcissistic injury. Sally Yates had just testified that she warned the White House in January 2017 that Flynn was compromised by Russia—directly threatening Trump's self-image as a shrewd judge of character. Rather than address why he retained Flynn for 18 days after the warning, Trump redirects to the irrelevant fact that Flynn's security clearance originated under Obama. This is a red herring: Obama fired Flynn in 2014 and personally warned Trump against hiring him. The post's psychological function is to externalize blame, protect the grandiose self, and delegitimize media coverage via the "Fake News" label. The defense stack—projection, denial, rationalization—is typical of Trump's response to exposure-type injuries. The epistemic closure demand is notable: followers must accept that the real story is Obama's clearance decision, not Trump's choice to ignore warnings.

## Psychological Analysis: Flynn Security Clearance Deflection (May 8, 2017)

### Context
This post arrives the day after Sally Yates testified that she warned the White House that Michael Flynn was compromised by Russia. Trump deflects by attributing Flynn's security clearance to the Obama administration—a classic externalization maneuver.

### Authorship
Posted at 7:57 AM ET (Trump likely at White House). This is consistent with his known early-morning Twitter habit of responding to morning news coverage. The construction is simple, direct, emotionally reactive, and uses signature phrases ("Fake News"). High confidence authentic.

### Psychological Dynamics
The post is a textbook **projection and displacement** response to narcissistic injury. The Yates testimony directly threatened Trump's judgment (he was warned about Flynn and kept him anyway). Rather than address this, he redirects blame to Obama—the clearance originated there, so Obama is responsible. The "Fake News" tag delegitimizes anyone covering the actual story.

### Rhetorical Function
The argument is a **red herring**. Flynn's DIA-era clearance (renewed under Obama) is irrelevant to the question of why Trump retained Flynn after being warned he was compromised. The post reframes the narrative from "Trump ignored warnings" to "Obama gave him clearance."

### Danger Assessment
No danger indicators. Standard political deflection.

## Fact Verification

| Claim | Verdict | Evidence |
|-------|---------|----------|
| "General Flynn was given the highest security clearance by the Obama Administration" | **Mostly True** | Flynn held a TS/SCI clearance renewed during his tenure as DIA director under Obama (2012-2014). However, Flynn was fired by Obama in 2014, and Trump chose to appoint him as National Security Advisor despite Obama personally warning Trump against hiring Flynn. |

Overall Veracity: 80%

## Authorship Analysis

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

### Indicators

- Early morning posting (7:57 AM ET)
- Simple declarative structure
- Signature 'Fake News' phrase
- Emotionally reactive to news cycle
- No polished formatting

## Psychological Profile

### State

**Grandiose State**

**Trigger:** Narcissistic Injury — Exposure (Sally Yates testimony revealing White House was warned about Flynn)

Sentiment: -0.40

### Clinical

**Malignant Narcissism:**
- Narcissistic: 50%
- Antisocial: 30%
- Paranoid: 40%
- Sadism: 10%

**Defense Mechanisms:**
- projection (immature)
- denial (pathological)
- rationalization (neurotic)

**Cognitive Complexity:**
- Complexity: 30%

**Parasocial Techniques:**
- framing media as enemy
- implying suppressed truth

## Danger Assessment

**NONE**

### Gaslighting

- Reframes the Flynn controversy from 'Trump ignored warnings' to 'Obama gave him clearance'
- Implies media is hiding the Obama connection rather than covering the actual story

## Fact Checks (1)

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

> General Flynn was given the highest security clearance by the Obama Administration

**MOSTLY TRUE**

Flynn held a TS/SCI clearance renewed during his tenure as DIA director under Obama (2012-2014). However, Flynn was fired by Obama in 2014, and Trump chose to appoint him as National Security Advisor despite Obama personally warning Trump against hiring Flynn.

Sources: Public record of Flynn's DIA appointment and dismissal

Overall Veracity: 80%

## Tags

- deflection (90%)
- Flynn investigation (90%)
- blame Obama (80%)
- fake news (70%)

## That day

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

**Day-Long Defensive Campaign Against Yates Testimony Sets Stage for Comey Firing**

Trump spent most of the day in damage-control mode after former Acting Attorney General Sally Yates testified that she warned the White House about Michael Flynn being compromised by Russia. The morning started with a light golf congratulations, but quickly shifted to a sustained effort to reframe the Yates testimony as a leak scandal rather than a Flynn scandal. By evening, a rapid burst of four posts in under ten minutes revealed growing frustration, with the final tweets showing cracks in the confident facade. Notably, this rhetoric served as groundwork for the firing of FBI Director James Comey the very next day.

Full digest for 2017-05-08: https://trump.fm/date/2017-05-08/analysis

## Citation

- APA: Trump, D. J. (2017, May 8). General Flynn was given the highest security... [Social media post]. X (Twitter). trump.fm. https://trump.fm/post/x_861550676505219073
- MLA: Trump, Donald J. "General Flynn was given the highest security clearance by..." X (Twitter), 8 May. 2017. trump.fm, https://trump.fm/post/x_861550676505219073. Accessed 9 Oct. 2026.
- Chicago: Donald J. Trump, "General Flynn was given the highest security clearance by...," X (Twitter), May 8, 2017, archived at trump.fm, https://trump.fm/post/x_861550676505219073.

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