# Post x_981126375716409344 - Post ID: `x_981126375716409344` - Platform: X (Twitter) - Posted: 2018-04-03T11:08:51.000Z (UTC) - Deleted: no - Repost: no - Canonical URL: https://trump.fm/post/x_981126375716409344 - Analysis page: https://trump.fm/post/x_981126375716409344/analysis - Audio narration: https://static.trump.fm/audio/x_981126375716409344.mp3 (a synthesized voice reading the post text, not a recording) ## Post text > Thank you to Rasmussen for the honest polling. Just hit 50%, which is higher than Cheatin’ Obama at the same time in his Administration. ## Engagement - Likes: 99,903 - Reposts: 22,540 - Replies: 0 - Views: unknown - Metrics collected: 2026-01-31T23:43:13.404Z (UTC) # Analysis _Machine-generated by trump.fm on 2026-03-14T19:19:50.115Z (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 April 3, 2018 post represents stable grandiose narcissistic functioning in supply-seeking mode, almost certainly authored authentically by Trump at approximately 7:08 AM EDT. The post absorbs a favorable outlier poll (Rasmussen at 50%) and deploys it for two simultaneous psychological functions: (1) public validation and supply-seeking, and (2) competitive dominance display over Barack Obama, Trump's dominant psychological foil. The "Cheatin'" epithet is applied to Obama without any specified referent — a rhetorically efficient ambiguity that allows each audience member to project their preferred grievance. Given the contemporaneous Stormy Daniels payment revelations and Mueller investigation activity, the "cheating" label directed outward reflects probable projection of disowned qualities. Defense mechanisms include pathological reality distortion (Rasmussen as sole epistemic authority on "honest" polling), projection (cheating attributed to predecessor), and rationalization (motivated poll selection framed as principled curation). The post contributes to an organized epistemic closure architecture training followers to dismiss all unfavorable data as dishonest. No cognitive decline markers; no danger indicators. This post represents baseline grandiose narcissistic functioning — competitive, self-promoting, and epistemically closed, but within the stable behavioral repertoire documented throughout this period. ## Psychological Analysis: April 3, 2018 — Rasmussen / "Cheatin' Obama" Post ### Authorship Attribution The UTC timestamp of 11:08:51 converts to approximately **7:08 AM EDT** (Washington DC, a Tuesday in early April — Trump was almost certainly at the White House). This falls squarely within Trump's documented early-morning posting window. The text exhibits hallmark authentic-Trump stylistic features: the punchy single-sentence structure, the informal gratitude opener ("Thank you to Rasmussen"), the possessive nickname construction ("Cheatin' Obama"), and the zero-hedging competitive claim. No aide would likely introduce a derogatory nickname for a former president. Authorship confidence: **high authentic**. --- ### Multi-Level Personality Analysis #### Level 1: Dispositional Traits The post foregrounds **low Agreeableness** (antagonism, contempt for a predecessor) and high **Extraversion/assertiveness** (public self-promotion). The competitive framing ("higher than") reflects strong **achievement-striving** within Conscientiousness, though the achievement being claimed is purely relative and delegated (a pollster's number, not policy outcome). **Neuroticism** manifests subtly: the need to publicly cite this number signals underlying approval anxiety, which the post simultaneously expresses and defends against through grandiosity. #### Level 2: Characteristic Adaptations **Dominant motive: Agency (status, validation).** The post is functionally a supply-seeking behavior — publicly absorbing a favorable number and broadcasting it to an audience. The thanks to Rasmussen for "honest polling" simultaneously (a) rewards a poll that flatters him and (b) implies all unfavorable polls are dishonest, constructing a closed epistemological loop where only confirming data is real. **Schema revealed:** The self-other schema is zero-sum. Trump's approval is meaningful not in isolation but only insofar as it exceeds Obama's. Positive self-regard requires a diminished other. #### Level 3: Narrative Identity - **Protagonist role:** The winner who is besting even the beloved predecessor — the usurper who has now surpassed the king. - **Contrasting other:** Barack Obama, here labeled "Cheatin'" — a nickname that provides no specific referent within this post, allowing audiences to project any grievance (FISA surveillance claims, the Russia investigation narrative of "spying," or simply general delegitimization). Ambiguity is rhetorical feature, not oversight. - **Narrative sequence:** Implicit **redemption**: the media and critics deny his legitimacy and success, but the "honest" poll vindicates him. - **Identity claim:** "I am more popular than the president the media adores — even using their preferred moment of comparison." #### Level 4: Clinical Indicators **Narcissistic dynamics (Kernberg):** - **Narcissistic features:** Grandiosity (framing a single outlier poll as definitive), need for admiration (public broadcast of approval number), envy-reversal (beats the comparison target). - **Paranoid features:** "Honest polling" as a category implies systematic dishonesty from unnamed others — a mild paranoid interpretive schema applied to polling data, consistent with his broader "fake news" epistemic framework. - **Antisocial features:** Minimal in this post specifically; the "Cheatin'" label applied to a former president without evidence or elaboration is a casual disregard for norms of discourse, but not acute. - **Sadism:** Mild — the pleasure in publicly demoting Obama ("Cheatin'") registers as low-grade dominance display rather than intense cruelty. **Trigger:** **Supply-seeking + narcissistic maintenance.** No acute injury is visible. This is routine grandiosity maintenance, a recharging behavior prompted by a favorable data point. The April 3 post cluster (attacking CNN, attacking immigration law, attacking Honduras caravan) suggests an activated, combative morning — the Rasmussen post provides a validating counterbalance within that sequence. **Narcissistic state:** **Grandiose.** No vulnerability markers present. **Rage:** Absent. The tone is triumphant rather than aggrieved. --- ### Defense Mechanisms 1. **Distortion (pathological):** Rasmussen was a documented outlier — a right-leaning pollster whose Trump approval readings consistently ran 5–10 points above aggregated polling averages. Framing this single source as "honest" while implicitly dismissing all divergent polling constitutes a gross reshaping of empirical reality to meet psychological need. This is not selective citation (a more benign rationalization) but an organized reality distortion system in which only flattering data is epistemologically legitimate. 2. **Projection (immature):** The "Cheatin'" label applied to Obama warrants particular attention. At this precise moment in April 2018, Trump was navigating the Stormy Daniels payment revelations, the Mueller investigation, and accusations of business fraud. The projection of "cheating" onto a predecessor who is not under any such scrutiny is textbook attribution of disowned qualities to a safer target. 3. **Rationalization (neurotic):** Selecting Rasmussen specifically because it yields a favorable comparison is rationalized as the poll being "honest," providing logical cover for what is functionally motivated reasoning. --- ### Rhetorical & Propaganda Techniques - **Cherry-picking / selective data presentation:** Rasmussen as sole cited source among dozens of active pollsters. - **Ad hominem via epithet:** "Cheatin' Obama" — attacks character without specifying charge. - **Loaded language / framing:** "Honest polling" poisons the well against all other polls without naming them. - **Invidious comparison:** Approval defined exclusively as superiority over predecessor, not on absolute or policy-relevant terms. - **Implicit false dichotomy:** Rasmussen = honest; all other polls = dishonest (unstated but structurally implied). --- ### Gaslighting / Reality Distortion Mild gaslighting is structurally present. By labeling a favorable outlier poll as the uniquely "honest" one, the post trains followers to distrust any polling that shows unfavorable numbers. This is a low-intensity epistemic manipulation — not a denial of a documented event, but a systematic reality-reframing device that accumulates effect across hundreds of similar posts. **Epistemic closure:** Yes. The framing creates a closed information system: good polls are real, bad polls are fake. This is consistent with the broader "fake news" epistemic architecture. --- ### Cognitive Status Markers No markers of concern in this post. The construction is intentionally simple but purposeful — the punchy structure appears chosen, not produced by limitation. The "Cheatin'" nickname construction is creative and deliberate. No word-finding gaps, perseveration, or temporal confusion. Consistent with baseline. --- ### Fact Verification | Claim | Verdict | Evidence | |-------|---------|----------| | "Rasmussen polling just hit 50% approval for Trump" | **True** | Rasmussen's Presidential Approval Index tracking poll did show Trump at approximately 50% approval in early April 2018, consistent with that pollster's consistently favorable readings for Trump. | | "Trump's approval (50%) is higher than Obama's at the same point in his administration" | **Mostly False** | On a strict Rasmussen-to-Rasmussen comparison, Obama ran approximately 47-48% in April 2010, making Trump's 50% technically higher on that single pollster. However, Rasmussen was a documented right-leaning outlier. RealClearPolitics polling averages showed Obama's comparable-period approval approximately 15 points higher than Trump's. The claim is technically cherry-picked to the only pollster that supports it. | | "Rasmussen provides 'honest polling' (implying others do not)" | **Mostly False** | Rasmussen's automated phone methodology and likely-voter model produced consistent rightward skew documented across multiple election cycles. Labeling it uniquely 'honest' while implying all other pollsters are dishonest is not methodologically defensible. | Overall Veracity: 47% ## Authorship Analysis **Self-Written** (score: 90%) ### Indicators - 7:08 AM EDT local time — within authentic early-morning posting window - Punchy single-sentence declarative structure characteristic of Trump - Informal gratitude opener ('Thank you to Rasmussen') is a Trump verbal tic - Possessive nickname construction ('Cheatin' Obama') — signature Trump device - Zero hedging or polish; no aide would introduce an unspecified 'cheating' epithet for a former president ## Psychological Profile ### State **Grandiose State** **Trigger:** Supply Seeking (Rasmussen polling data showing 50% approval) Sentiment: +0.40 ### Clinical **Malignant Narcissism:** - Narcissistic: 75% - Antisocial: 20% - Paranoid: 35% - Sadism: 20% **Defense Mechanisms:** - distortion (pathological) - projection (immature) - rationalization (neurotic) **Cognitive Complexity:** - Complexity: 30% **Parasocial Techniques:** - Public broadcast of favorable polling to mobilize audience validation - Framing audience as fellow recipients of vindication ('we are winning') - Epistemic anchoring — training followers to accept only favorable data as real ## Danger Assessment **NONE** ### Gaslighting - Labeling the single favorable outlier poll 'honest' implicitly delegitimizes all unfavorable polling data - Constructs an epistemological system in which only confirming data is epistemically valid — training followers to reject disconfirming evidence as inherently corrupt - Attacks on others' data perception without naming specific polls or offering methodology critique ## Fact Checks (3) _The model's verdicts from 2026-03-14._ > Rasmussen polling just hit 50% approval for Trump **TRUE** Rasmussen's Presidential Approval Index tracking poll did show Trump at approximately 50% approval in early April 2018, consistent with that pollster's consistently favorable readings for Trump. Sources: Rasmussen Reports daily tracking poll, April 2018 > Trump's approval (50%) is higher than Obama's at the same point in his administration **MOSTLY FALSE** On a strict Rasmussen-to-Rasmussen comparison, Obama ran approximately 47-48% in April 2010, making Trump's 50% technically higher on that single pollster. However, Rasmussen was a documented right-leaning outlier. RealClearPolitics polling averages showed Obama's comparable-period approval approximately 15 points higher than Trump's. The claim is technically cherry-picked to the only pollster that supports it. Sources: RealClearPolitics polling averages, comparative presidential approval data > Rasmussen provides 'honest polling' (implying others do not) **MOSTLY FALSE** Rasmussen's automated phone methodology and likely-voter model produced consistent rightward skew documented across multiple election cycles. Labeling it uniquely 'honest' while implying all other pollsters are dishonest is not methodologically defensible. Sources: FiveThirtyEight pollster ratings and methodology analyses Overall Veracity: 47% ## Tags - supply-seeking (90%) - grandiose-narcissism (80%) - projection (70%) - epistemic-closure (85%) - obama-comparison (90%) - cherry-picking (85%) - nickname-epithet (80%) - early-morning-authentic (90%) - poll-framing (80%) - zero-sum-schema (75%) ## That day _From trump.fm's machine-generated digest of the day, not his words._ **Immigration Siege Mentality Dominates as Trump Fires Across Multiple Fronts From the White House** Trump spent the day fixated on immigration, firing off multiple posts about a Honduras migrant caravan and the border while also taking shots at CNN, mainstream media, and Amazon. The mood was combative but controlled — a sustained broadside across multiple targets rather than a focused rage spiral. An early morning burst of rapid-fire posts showed him at his most energized, cycling through grievances at high tempo before pausing for official duties hosting Baltic state leaders. He closed the day with a formulaic response to the YouTube headquarters shooting. A high-volume day dominated by border anxiety and media warfare, with no major departures from established patterns. Full digest for 2018-04-03: https://trump.fm/date/2018-04-03/analysis ## Citation - APA: Trump, D. J. (2018, April 3). Thank you to Rasmussen for the honest polling.... [Social media post]. X (Twitter). trump.fm. https://trump.fm/post/x_981126375716409344 - MLA: Trump, Donald J. "Thank you to Rasmussen for the honest polling. Just hit..." X (Twitter), 3 Apr. 2018. trump.fm, https://trump.fm/post/x_981126375716409344. Accessed 9 Oct. 2026. - Chicago: Donald J. Trump, "Thank you to Rasmussen for the honest polling. Just hit...," X (Twitter), April 3, 2018, archived at trump.fm, https://trump.fm/post/x_981126375716409344. ## For agents - Site overview: https://trump.fm/llms.txt - API specification: https://trump.fm/openapi.json - MCP server: https://trump.fm/mcp (search and fetch tools, no auth) - This post as JSON: https://trump.fm/api/posts/x_981126375716409344 - Analysis as JSON: https://trump.fm/api/analysis/x_981126375716409344 - All citation formats: https://trump.fm/api/cite/x_981126375716409344 - Same day: https://trump.fm/date/2018-04-03 - The record alone, without the analysis: https://trump.fm/post/x_981126375716409344.md?analysis=false _Markdown view of a trump.fm page. Post, analysis, date, feed, contradictions, search and about pages answer in markdown at their URL with `.md` appended (`/index.md` for the home page), or when sent `Accept: text/markdown`._