Fallacious Trump

In the one hundred and forty second episode we explore the Schrödinger's Idiot Fallacy, starting with Trump deflecting criticism for asking Russia to hack Hillary's emails, suggesting people inject disinfectant and getting Biden's name wrong. In Mark's British Politics Corner we look at 30p Lee Anderson joking about people wanting to go to Bradford, and Avanti West Coast not being...

In the one hundred and forty first episode we explore the Scapegoating Fallacy, starting with Trump blaming China for COVID and immigrants for crime, as well as Elon Musk blaming the Anti-Defamation League for Twitter losing ad revenue. In Mark's British Politics Corner we look at 30p Lee Anderson blaming food banks on people who can't cook, and Robert Jenrick blaming a lawyer for his (lac...

In the one hundred and fortieth episode (in which we swap roles Freaky-Friday-style) we explore the Automation Fallacy, starting with Trump suggesting technology is great for immigration but then disagreeing with himself. In Jim's British Politics Corner we look at The UK Governments attempts to use algorithms to assign exam grades, fight crime and stop immigrants (not all immigrants - you kno...

Happy New Year! A couple of years ago we both hated WW84 and needed to rant about it for our Patrons. For a while. So here's the second part of our breakdown, just in case you're interested. It's part scholarly film theory analysis, part snarky nitpicking, part exasperated diatribe.  We explore the themes of female empowerment, wish fulfilment and 80s nostalgia while laughing/crying ab...

Merry Christmas! A couple of years ago we both hated WW84 and needed to rant about it for our Patrons.  For a while.  So here's the first part of our breakdown, just in case you're interested. It's part scholarly film theory analysis, part snarky nitpicking, part exasperated diatribe.   We explore the themes of female empowerment, wish fulfilment and 80s nostalgia while laughing/crying...

In the one hundred and thirty ninth episode we take another look at the Straw Man Fallacy, starting with Trump misrepresenting Biden and Sanders' unity platform, as well as Biden's stance on guns, energy and God. In Mark's British Politics Corner we look at Margaret Thatcher distorting Simon Hughes' question, Rishi pretending he helped, and Sir Michael Fallon lying about what Jerem...

In the one hundred and thirty eighth episode we explore the Bulverism Fallacy, starting with Trump suggesting reporters are against him and indictments are political persecution. In Mark's British Politics Corner we look at a Red Herring from Rishi, Nigel Farage questioning Coutts motives for closing his account, and Mike Graham losing an argument to a carpenter. In the Fallacy in the Wild sec...

In the one hundred and thirty seventh episode we explore the What's the Harm Fallacy, starting with Trump suggesting childhood vaccines should be more spread out and African Americans might as well try voting for him. In Mark's British Politics Corner we look at Nigel Farage defending Dominic Cumming's Barnard Castle trip and Suella Braverman's reaction to racist dolls being remove...

In the one hundred and thirty sixth episode we explore the I'm Entitled to my Opinion Fallacy, starting with Mike Pence defending Trump's right to the opinion that he actually won the popular vote, Joe Tacopina defending Trump's right to the opinion that Judge Marchan was biased against him, Roger Stone invoking his own right to the opinion that Russians aren't Russians, and Kellya...

In the one hundred and thirty fifth episode we explore the Worst Case Scenario, starting with Trump claiming he saved 2 million lives, Joseph Ladapo warning people not to have the Covid vaccine, and Dick Cheney advocating a one percent doctrine. In Mark's British Politics Corner we look at Jeremy Corbyn inflating the cost of Brexit to the NHS and the Leave campaign decrying 'Project Fear&#...

In the one hundred and thirty fourth episode we explore the Sour Grapes Fallacy, starting with Trump claiming Salma Hayek is too short for him, and NFL games are boring, and various right wingers claim Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce are talentless and ugly. In Mark's British Politics Corner we look at Jonathan Wallace and Nigel Farage being bitter about losing elections. In the Fallacy in the W...

In the one hundred and thirty third episode we explore the Playing the Victim Fallacy, starting with Trump claiming people only accuse him of sexual assault, fraud, and stealing classified documents because he's the best. In Mark's British Politics Corner we look at Priti Patel, Dominic Raab, and Boris Johnson all feeling very put upon when asked to behave well. In the Fallacy in the Wild...

In the one hundred and thirty second episode we explore the Argument from Too Much Evidence, starting with Kandiss Taylor seeing globes everywhere and Dinesh D'Souza being suspicious of Covid. In Mark's British Politics Corner we look at Nigel Farage decrying Boris Johnson's many claims on when we would leave the EU, followed by the FT's Miranda Green being skeptical about the prom...

In the one hundred and thirty first episode we explore the Countless Counterfeit Fallacy, starting with proclaiming the huge number of dodgy affidavits he collected and the many terrible scientific studies which show hydroxychloroquine cures Covid. Then Dinesh D'Souza fails to prove election fraud but makes some lofty claims. In Mark's British Politics Corner we look at Boris Johnson talki...

In the one hundred and thirtieth episode we revisit the Genetic Fallacy, starting with Trump wishing people would look at the oranges of the Mueller Report, then attacking his various prosecutors, before a Trump ally attacks the judge in his DC case. In Mark's British Politics Corner we look at both Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak attacking Kier Starmer to avoid answering questions, and then bot...

In the one hundred and twenty ninth episode we explore the Nutpicking Fallacy, starting with Trump claiing Democrats want to repeal the 2nd Amendment, then suggesting immigrants are violent and dangerous, followed by Brad Parscale struggling to understand humor. In Mark's British Politics Corner we look at both Tory and Labour MPs struggling with numbers. In the Fallacy in the Wild section, we...

In the one hundred and twenty eighth episode we explore the Zero Sum Fallacy, starting with Trump getting trade wrong again and dismissing Black lives mattering, followed by the Supreme Court annihilating affirmative action. In Mark's British Politics Corner we look at Rishi Sunak and Oliver Dowden's zero sum based trade theories, and Rishi's attack on 'useless' university degr...

Mark's off entertaining the local glitterati in his pied-à-terre on the Continent this week so we thought you might like to hear the interview we did recently on the Undercurrent Stories podcast with Bob Wells. We'll be back as normal next week, but in the meantime if you'd like to check out more of Bob's interviews you can go to https://www.undercurrentstories.com/  Advertising In...

In the one hundred and twenty seventh episode we explore Whataboutism, starting with Lindsay Graham doing a classic 'But Her Emails' gambit, followed by Trump asking "what about the alt-left" and Fox News hosts going on a whataboutism spree. In Mark's British Politics Corner we look at Rishi Sunak's evasion techniques in Prime Minister's Questions. In the Fallacy in the...

In the one hundred and twenty sixth episode we explore the Accident Fallacy, starting with Trump calling his indictment "third world country stuff" and suggesting everyone should vote in person despite the pandemic, and Charlie Kirk not understanding how numbers work. In Mark's British Politics Corner we look at Boris's response to the Privileges Committee's findings about him...

In the one hundred and twenty fifth episode we explore the Tautological Templar Fallacy, starting with Alan Dershowitz basically claiming nothing a President does is impeachable, and Kellyanne Conway saying everything a President does is Presidential. In Mark's British Politics Corner we look at Nadine Dorries excusing the fact that Boris didn't follow lockdown rules and then claiming that...

Happy 5th Birthday Fallacious Trump! As a birthday treat (and because we're taking a week off while Mark repatriates from his palatial villa in rural France), we thought you might like the first part of our breakdown of a terrible film. We watched Blackbird - a vanity project written, directed and funded by 'Lord of the Dance' Michael Flatley, and also starring him as a retired secret...

In the one hundred and twenty fourth episode we explore the Just Because Fallacy, starting with Trump giving no reason why Mexico would pay for his wall and expecting people to trust his expertise on liars. In Mark's British Politics Corner we look at Rishi Sunak claiming Britons already trust him, Kemi Badenoch implying her status as Trade Secretary should be all the proof you need to ignore...

In the one hundred and twenty third episode we explore the Argumentum ad Fastidium, or Argument from Disgust, starting with Trump dismissing kobe beef, railing against violent movies, and objecting to being asked about racism. In Mark's British Politics Corner we look at Angela Rayner being disgusted by Dominic Raab's behavior and then defending attack ads which others found disgusting, an...

In the one hundred and twenty second episode we explore Factoid Propagation, starting with Trump claiming there were more votes than voters in Detroit, and that Biden left $85 billion worth of military equipment in Afghanistan. In Mark's British Politics Corner we look at Rishi Sunak lying about Labour's asylum application backlog and asylum seekers themselves, and both Suella Braverman an...