Analysis: ...Save your energy Rex, we'll do what has to be done!

8y ago Oct 1, 2017 at 2:31 PM

...Save your energy Rex, we'll do what has to be done!

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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

Elevated

Narcissistic State

Grandiose

Authorship

Self-Written

Intensity

60%

This post completes a two-part public rebuke of Secretary of State Tillerson's diplomatic engagement with North Korea. A sitting president using social media to publicly overrule and patronize his chief diplomat on nuclear negotiations is extraordinary norm-violation. The patronizing "Save your energy" diminishes Tillerson's professional role, while "we'll do what has to be done" employs strategic ambiguity that implies military or coercive action. The dominance display serves multiple functions: establishing hierarchy over Tillerson, performing toughness for domestic audiences, and signaling unpredictability to North Korea. Psychologically, this reflects extreme agency motivation with near-absent communion — the willingness to publicly humiliate a senior official demonstrates low empathy and high power-seeking. The splitting between diplomacy-as-weakness and action-as-strength reveals a rigid schema. The elevated danger rating reflects not violent rhetoric per se, but the real-world consequence of a president publicly rejecting diplomacy with a nuclear-armed adversary while hinting at unspecified alternatives.

Authorship Analysis

Self-Written

Indicators:

Ellipsis continuation of prior post (thread-style)
Informal first-name address to cabinet member
Impulsive public undermining of subordinate
Sunday morning posting
Policy-breaking content no aide would draft independently

Psychological Profile

▶ State

Grandiose State

Trigger: Preemptive Attack — Comparison (Tillerson's diplomatic engagement with North Korea)

Sentiment

-0.20

▶ Clinical

Malignant Narcissism:

Narcissistic

70%

Antisocial

40%

Paranoid

20%

Sadism

40%

Defense Mechanisms:

acting outsplitting

Cognitive Complexity:

Complexity

25%

Parasocial Techniques:

Letting audience feel privy to internal White House dynamicsPerforming decisiveness as entertainment

Danger Assessment

Elevated

Indicators:

Public rejection of diplomacy with nuclear-armed state
Ominous vagueness ('what has to be done') implying non-diplomatic action
Undermining diplomatic channels in real-time

Fact Checks (1)

"Tillerson was engaged in diplomatic outreach to North Korea"

True

Tillerson had publicly confirmed backchannel communications with North Korea in late September 2017

Receipts

No contradictions with other posts detected yet.

Psychological Analysis: Post x_914497947517227008

Context

This is a continuation of the previous post ("I told Rex Tillerson, our wonderful Secretary of State, that he is wasting his time trying to negotiate with Little Rocket Man..."). Together they constitute a sitting president publicly undermining and overruling his own Secretary of State on North Korea diplomacy via social media. Posted 10:31 AM ET on a Sunday.

Authorship

The ellipsis-led continuation, informal tone ("Rex"), and the imperious dismissal of diplomatic efforts are consistent with authentic Trump. The timing (Sunday mid-morning) is ambiguous but the impulsive, policy-undermining nature strongly suggests personal authorship. No aide would publicly contradict the Secretary of State without direct instruction.

Psychological Dynamics

The core dynamic is a public dominance display over a subordinate. Rather than communicating privately, Trump chose to publicly order Tillerson to cease diplomatic efforts — establishing hierarchy in the most visible way possible. "We'll do what has to be done" carries implied threat toward North Korea while simultaneously diminishing Tillerson's role.

The phrase "Save your energy" is notably patronizing — framing Tillerson's diplomatic work as futile exertion, positioning Trump as the one who knows what "has to be done." This reflects a schema where diplomacy = weakness and unilateral action = strength.

Defense Mechanisms

Acting out: Policy disagreements expressed impulsively via public social media rather than through governance channels
Splitting: Diplomacy (weak/waste) vs. unnamed action (strong/necessary)

Rhetorical Analysis

Ominous vagueness ("what has to be done") — implies military action without commitment
Patronizing dismissal ("Save your energy")
First-person plural "we'll" — excludes Tillerson from the decision-making "we"

Danger Assessment

The phrase "we'll do what has to be done" regarding North Korea, combined with the explicit rejection of diplomacy, constitutes eliminationist-adjacent rhetoric in a nuclear context. While vague, the implied preference for non-diplomatic solutions to a nuclear standoff is concerning.

Fact Verification

Claim	Verdict	Evidence
"Tillerson was engaged in diplomatic outreach to North Korea"	True	Tillerson had publicly confirmed backchannel communications with North Korea in late September 2017

Overall Veracity: 100%