# Post x_912018945158402049

- Post ID: `x_912018945158402049`
- Platform: X (Twitter)
- Posted: 2017-09-24T18:20:35.000Z (UTC)
- Deleted: no
- Repost: no
- Canonical URL: https://trump.fm/post/x_912018945158402049
- Analysis page: https://trump.fm/post/x_912018945158402049/analysis
- Audio narration: https://static.trump.fm/audio/x_912018945158402049.mp3 (a synthesized voice reading the post text, not a recording)

## Post text

> Great solidarity for our National Anthem and for our Country. Standing with locked arms is good, kneeling is not acceptable. Bad ratings!

## Engagement

- Likes: 135,710
- Reposts: 27,692
- Replies: 0
- Views: unknown
- Metrics collected: 2026-01-31T23:43:13.386Z (UTC)

# Analysis

_Machine-generated by trump.fm on 2026-03-11T23:17:44.353Z (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 textbook example of narcissistic reality distortion under pressure. After Trump's "sons of bitches" comments triggered the largest wave of NFL anthem protests in history (200+ players), he reframes the backlash as "great solidarity for our National Anthem"—claiming opponent actions as evidence of his own success. The binary "locked arms good, kneeling not acceptable" functions as authoritarian boundary-setting, positioning Trump as arbiter of permissible patriotic expression. The non sequitur "Bad ratings!" reveals the underlying schema: this is not about patriotism but about dominance and winning. The post demonstrates pathological distortion (Vaillant Level 1) and immature splitting. Longitudinally, it fits the established pattern of escalation → backlash → reality reframing seen across Trump's conflict cycles. The attempt to co-opt protest as support is particularly notable as a real-time demonstration of how narcissistic defenses reshape perceived reality to protect grandiose self-concept.

## Psychological Analysis: NFL Anthem Post (2017-09-24)

### Context
This post continues Trump's multi-day escalation of the NFL anthem controversy, which he initiated at an Alabama rally on September 22. By September 24, over 200 NFL players had protested during the national anthem in direct response to his comments. This post attempts to reframe the massive backlash as a victory—claiming "great solidarity" while simultaneously dictating acceptable forms of expression.

### Authorship
Posted at 2:20 PM EDT (Trump was in the DC/NJ area this weekend). The polished structure, complete sentences, and strategic framing suggest aide involvement, though the "Bad ratings!" exclamation at the end is classic Trump—a punchy, dismissive tagline. Likely a collaborative product or aide draft with Trump's editorial stamp.

### Psychological Dynamics
The post reveals a striking attempt to redefine reality in real-time. Teams locking arms was widely understood as solidarity *with* protesting players and *against* Trump's comments, yet Trump claims it as solidarity "for our National Anthem." This is textbook distortion—reshaping external events to match narcissistic needs.

The binary framing ("locked arms is good, kneeling is not acceptable") functions as authoritarian boundary-setting: Trump positions himself as the arbiter of acceptable patriotic expression. The word "acceptable" carries particular weight—it implies authority to permit or forbid.

"Bad ratings!" tacked on at the end shifts from patriotic framing to commercial metrics, revealing that the underlying schema is dominance/winning rather than genuine patriotic concern.

### Rhetorical Function
This post serves as narrative control after a weekend where events arguably spiraled beyond Trump's intentions. Rather than acknowledging the backlash, he co-opts it.

## Fact Verification

| Claim | Verdict | Evidence |
|-------|---------|----------|
| "Great solidarity for our National Anthem" | **Mostly False** | Teams locking arms on Sept 24 was widely understood as solidarity with protesting players and against Trump's comments, not as solidarity for the anthem itself. Over 200 players knelt, sat, or stayed in locker rooms. |
| "Bad ratings" | **Half True** | NFL ratings had declined in 2016-2017, but causes were multifactorial (cord-cutting, election coverage, game quality). Attributing the decline primarily to anthem protests is misleading. |

Overall Veracity: 35%

## Authorship Analysis

**Uncertain** (score: 40%)

### Indicators

- Business hours posting (2:20 PM ET)
- Mostly polished structure
- But 'Bad ratings!' is classic Trump exclamatory tagline
- Strategic reframing suggests political calculation

## Psychological Profile

### State

**Grandiose State**

**Trigger:** Narcissistic Injury — Defeat (Massive NFL player protests directly opposing his stance)

Sentiment: +0.30

**Mildly Hypomanic**
- Sustained high-volume tweeting across multiple days on this topic
- Grandiose reframing of opposition as support

### Clinical

**Malignant Narcissism:**
- Narcissistic: 70%
- Antisocial: 30%
- Paranoid: 20%
- Sadism: 20%

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

**Cognitive Complexity:**
- Complexity: 40%

**Parasocial Techniques:**
- claiming audience agreement
- defining in-group loyalty tests

## Danger Assessment

**NONE**

### Gaslighting

- Reframing widespread protest against his comments as solidarity with his position
- Dictating what forms of expression are 'acceptable'

## Fact Checks (2)

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

> Great solidarity for our National Anthem

**MOSTLY FALSE**

Teams locking arms on Sept 24 was widely understood as solidarity with protesting players and against Trump's comments, not as solidarity for the anthem itself. Over 200 players knelt, sat, or stayed in locker rooms.

Sources: Known events context

> Bad ratings

**HALF TRUE**

NFL ratings had declined in 2016-2017, but causes were multifactorial (cord-cutting, election coverage, game quality). Attributing the decline primarily to anthem protests is misleading.

Overall Veracity: 35%

## Tags

- NFL anthem controversy (100%)
- reality distortion (90%)
- authoritarian framing (80%)
- culture war (80%)

## That day

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

**Nuclear Threats and Culture War: A Day of Grandiose Dominance Displays While Puerto Rico Goes Dark**

Trump spent nearly the entire day waging a culture war against NFL players who knelt during the national anthem — a fight he picked two days earlier at an Alabama rally. Six of his ten posts hammered this single issue from every possible angle: boycotts, firings, patriotism, military sacrifice, and league policy changes. The day opened with a late-night threat implying North Korea's leadership "won't be around much longer," then pivoted entirely to football grievances. Notably absent from the entire day: any mention of Hurricane Maria or the 3.4 million Americans in Puerto Rico left without power.

Full digest for 2017-09-24: https://trump.fm/date/2017-09-24/analysis

## Citation

- APA: Trump, D. J. (2017, September 24). Great solidarity for our National Anthem and for... [Social media post]. X (Twitter). trump.fm. https://trump.fm/post/x_912018945158402049
- MLA: Trump, Donald J. "Great solidarity for our National Anthem and for our..." X (Twitter), 24 Sep. 2017. trump.fm, https://trump.fm/post/x_912018945158402049. Accessed 9 Oct. 2026.
- Chicago: Donald J. Trump, "Great solidarity for our National Anthem and for our...," X (Twitter), September 24, 2017, archived at trump.fm, https://trump.fm/post/x_912018945158402049.

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