Analysis: Great solidarity for our National Anthem and for our Country...

8y ago Sep 24, 2017 at 6:20 PM

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

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AI Analysis

Machine-generated analysis of the post above on 2026-03-11. Not written by the author of the post.

Danger Level

None

Narcissistic State

Grandiose

Authorship

Uncertain

Intensity

50%

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.

Authorship Analysis

Uncertain

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 topicGrandiose reframing of opposition as support

▶ Clinical

Malignant Narcissism:

Narcissistic

70%

Antisocial

30%

Paranoid

20%

Sadism

20%

Defense Mechanisms:

distortionsplitting

Cognitive Complexity:

Complexity

40%

Parasocial Techniques:

claiming audience agreementdefining in-group loyalty tests

Danger Assessment

None

Gaslighting Detected:

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

Reality Distortions:

Claims 'great solidarity for our National Anthem' when teams were protesting Trump's comments
Implies ratings decline is due to anthem protests rather than broader NFL viewership trends

Fact Checks (2)

"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.

Receipts

No contradictions with other posts detected yet.

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%