# Post x_864452996129853444

- Post ID: `x_864452996129853444`
- Platform: X (Twitter)
- Posted: 2017-05-16T12:10:29.000Z (UTC)
- Deleted: no
- Repost: no
- Canonical URL: https://trump.fm/post/x_864452996129853444
- Analysis page: https://trump.fm/post/x_864452996129853444/analysis
- Audio narration: https://static.trump.fm/audio/x_864452996129853444.mp3 (a synthesized voice reading the post text, not a recording)

## Post text

> I have been asking Director Comey & others, from the beginning of my administration, to find the LEAKERS in the intelligence community.....

## Engagement

- Likes: 80,922
- Reposts: 19,953
- Replies: 0
- Views: unknown
- Metrics collected: 2026-01-31T23:43:13.390Z (UTC)

# Analysis

_Machine-generated by trump.fm on 2026-03-11T12:52:19.578Z (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 a psychologically significant defensive maneuver posted hours after the NYT reported the Comey memo documenting Trump's request to drop the Flynn investigation. Rather than address the obstruction allegation directly, Trump constructs an alternative narrative: his interactions with Comey were about finding leakers, not protecting Flynn. This represents a classic narcissistic injury response to exposure—the most threatening form of injury because it involves documented evidence. The defense architecture is multilayered: pathological distortion (reframing the Comey relationship), projection (redirecting from his own alleged misconduct to others'), and displacement (channeling fury at the memo into fury at leakers). The temporal anchoring phrase "from the beginning of my administration" attempts to establish the leaker narrative as primary and longstanding, making the Flynn conversation seem incidental. Combined with the adjacent tweets defending his sharing of classified information with Russia, this morning represents a firehose response—multiple competing narratives deployed simultaneously to overwhelm the information space. The ALL CAPS "LEAKERS" designates a target for supporters' anger, redirecting it away from the president and toward unnamed intelligence community personnel. The danger level is elevated due to the targeting of government employees and the pattern of retaliatory action against perceived disloyalty.

## Psychological Analysis: Post x_864452996129853444

**Date:** May 16, 2017, 8:10 AM ET | **Context:** Hours after NYT reported the Comey memo documenting Trump's request to drop the Flynn investigation.

### Situational Context
This post arrives at a critical moment: the Comey memo story broke the evening of May 15, alleging Trump asked Comey to end the Flynn investigation. This tweet reframes Trump's interactions with Comey as being about *leakers*, not about Flynn—a textbook deflection maneuver.

### Authorship
Posted at 8:10 AM ET, consistent with Trump's early-morning reactive tweeting pattern. The ellipsis ending (thread continuation), ALL CAPS emphasis on "LEAKERS," and the defensive/reactive quality all point to authentic authorship. The content is too politically sensitive and emotionally charged for an aide to compose without direction.

### Psychological Analysis
This is a **preemptive reframing** defense. By asserting he asked Comey to find leakers "from the beginning," Trump attempts to:
1. Establish an alternative narrative for his Comey interactions
2. Redirect attention from obstruction allegations to leaks
3. Position himself as the aggrieved party (victim of leakers) rather than the subject of investigation

The phrase "from the beginning of my administration" functions as a temporal anchor designed to make the leaker narrative seem primary and longstanding, implicitly subordinating the Flynn conversation as incidental.

### Defense Mechanisms
- **Distortion**: Reframing Comey interactions as primarily about leakers
- **Projection**: The person accused of improper requests to the FBI director redirects to others' impropriety (leaking)
- **Displacement**: Anger about the Comey memo redirected toward "LEAKERS"

### Rhetorical Techniques
The ALL CAPS "LEAKERS" serves dual purposes: emotional emphasis and target designation. The trailing ellipsis signals a thread—this is a calculated multi-part statement, not an impulsive outburst, though the emotional urgency is genuine.

## Fact Verification

| Claim | Verdict | Evidence |
|-------|---------|----------|
| "Has been asking Comey from the beginning to find leakers in the intelligence community" | **Unverifiable** | While Trump may have discussed leaks with Comey, the Comey memo documents a very different primary request—to drop the Flynn investigation. This framing omits the most significant documented interaction. |

Overall Veracity: 50%

## Authorship Analysis

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

### Indicators

- Early morning reactive timing (8:10 AM ET)
- ALL CAPS emphasis on LEAKERS
- Ellipsis thread continuation style
- Defensive emotional content unlikely delegated to aide

## Psychological Profile

### State

**Vulnerable State**

**Trigger:** Narcissistic Injury — Exposure (NYT Comey memo report alleging obstruction of justice)

**Rage:** Intensity 60% targeting Intelligence community leakers
- Proportionality: 30%

Sentiment: -0.50

**Mildly Hypomanic**
- Multiple tweets on sensitive topics in rapid succession early morning
- Reactive multi-front defensive engagement

### Clinical

**Malignant Narcissism:**
- Narcissistic: 60%
- Antisocial: 40%
- Paranoid: 60%
- Sadism: 10%

**Defense Mechanisms:**
- distortion (pathological)
- projection (immature)
- displacement (neurotic)

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

**Parasocial Techniques:**
- Inviting audience to adopt his reframing of events
- Positioning self as authority figure taking action

## Danger Assessment

**ELEVATED**

### Indicators

- Targeting intelligence community personnel as 'LEAKERS'
- Pattern of retaliation against perceived disloyalty

### Gaslighting

- Reframes documented Comey interactions to contradict reported memo content
- Constructs alternative timeline ('from the beginning') for his FBI director conversations

## Fact Checks (1)

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

> Has been asking Comey from the beginning to find leakers in the intelligence community

**UNVERIFIABLE**

While Trump may have discussed leaks with Comey, the Comey memo documents a very different primary request—to drop the Flynn investigation. This framing omits the most significant documented interaction.

Sources: NYT Comey memo reporting, May 16 2017

Overall Veracity: 50%

## Tags

- obstruction-narrative (90%)
- comey-firing (90%)
- leakers (80%)
- reframing (85%)
- russia-investigation (70%)

## That day

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

**Twin Scandals Collide: Trump Confirms Intel Sharing While Deflecting to Leakers**

Trump spent the morning in damage-control mode, responding to back-to-back bombshell reports about sharing classified intelligence with Russian officials and the Comey memo documenting a request to drop the Flynn investigation. His defense of the Russia meeting inadvertently confirmed the story his own national security advisor was publicly denying, asserting he had the "absolute right" to share whatever he wanted. He then pivoted sharply to attacking intelligence community leakers in all-caps, projecting his own disclosure problem onto others. The afternoon brought a return to routine with an economic stat and a photo-op welcoming Turkey's president to the White House.

Full digest for 2017-05-16: https://trump.fm/date/2017-05-16/analysis

## Citation

- APA: Trump, D. J. (2017, May 16). I have been asking Director Comey & others,... [Social media post]. X (Twitter). trump.fm. https://trump.fm/post/x_864452996129853444
- MLA: Trump, Donald J. "I have been asking Director Comey & others, from the..." X (Twitter), 16 May. 2017. trump.fm, https://trump.fm/post/x_864452996129853444. Accessed 9 Oct. 2026.
- Chicago: Donald J. Trump, "I have been asking Director Comey & others, from the...," X (Twitter), May 16, 2017, archived at trump.fm, https://trump.fm/post/x_864452996129853444.

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