Washington (CNN) Think about this: You've just spent nearly two weeks halfway around the world. You've spent most of the last 24 hours on a plane. Your body clock is somewhere between 12-14 hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time. You are 71 years old.

What's one of the first things you do -- after you likely sleep a bit -- on your first day back at your desk for work?

If you're President Donald Trump, you send out this tweet : "Do you think the three UCLA Basketball Players will say thank you President Trump? They were headed for 10 years in jail!"

Do you think the three UCLA Basketball Players will say thank you President Trump? They were headed for 10 years in jail! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 15, 2017

Let's leave aside Trump referring to himself in the third person in the tweet -- that deserves a post all its own -- and focus on the psychology behind this tweet in this moment.

Trump is someone who likes to be praised. He likes to be adulated at all times -- and tends to respond well to people who say nice things about him. (See "Putin, Vladimir.")