Fallacious Trump

In the ninety-first episode we explore Amazing Familiarity, starting with Trump claiming to know what the Founders intended when writing the Constitution, and whether anybody has ever said I love you to a politician. Kevin McCarthy claims he knows why people voted for Biden, and Kayleigh McEnany claims Trump has never lied. In Mark's British Politics Corner we look at Boris knowing what it&#39...

Happy New Year! Here's part 2 of our Holiday treat for you, a breakdown of Disney+'s latest shameless cash grab, a film made by people who either didn't watch Home Alone or didn't understand why people liked it. It's part scholarly film theory analysis, part snarky nitpicking, part exasperated diatribe. Yes, each of the two parts is technically about as long as the film itself,...

In the ninetieth episode we explore the Argument from Silence, starting with Trump assuming everyone is flirting with him even if they don't know it themselves, and assuming people who take the fifth are guilty, and Marjorie Taylor Greene harassing school shooting survivor David Hogg. In Mark's British Politics Corner we look at Simon Case not answering any questions, and Boris suggesting...

Merry Christmas! Here's our Christmas gift to you, a breakdown of Disney+'s latest shameless cash grab, a film made by people who either didn't watch Home Alone or didn't understand why people liked it. It's part scholarly film theory analysis, part snarky nitpicking, part exasperated diatribe. Yes, each of the two parts is technically about as long as the film itself, but we t...

In the eighty-ninth episode we explore Survivorship Bias, starting with Trump talking to literal survivors of coronavirus about using hydroxychloroquine, and telling people not to be afraid of Covid after he survived it, and South Carolina Republican Nancy Mace citing a study on natural immunity that relies heavily on this fallacy. In Mark's British Politics Corner we look at MPs on both sides...

In the eighty-eighth episode we explore Conflating Views, starting with Trump lumping New Mexicans in with Californians regarding the Wall and claiming Biden had vowed to defund the police; and Candace Owens suggesting Rittenhouse disbelievers were more charitable to OJ. In Mark's British Politics Corner we look at Priti Patel being unsympathetic to immigrants (shock!) in the wake of the Liver...

In the eighty-seventh episode we explore the Gotcha Argument, starting with Trump revealing how unprepared he was to answer foreign policy questions as a candidate, and failing to clarify Jared Kushner's statement on the Strategic National Stockpile. In Mark's British Politics Corner we look at Matt Hancock refusing to answer a question he didn't like, and Boris Johnson waffling an ans...

In the eighty-sixth episode we explore the Appeal to Fiction Fallacy, starting with Trump confusing a movie with real life around the southern border, and comparing himself to a notorious movie villain, before Don Jr misunderstands Orwell. In Mark's British Politics Corner we look at Boris Johnson attempting to pepper his speech on how great we all are with allusions to Greek mythology and mup...

In the eighty-fifth episode we explore the Broken Window Fallacy, starting with Trump claiming tariffs would help the economy, and Texas and Mississippi Attorneys General arguing that banning abortions empowers women and stimulates interstate commerce. In Mark's British Politics Corner we look at Boris Johnson boasting that the abolition of Free Trade with the EU since Brexit means exporters o...

In the eighty-fourth episode we explore the Sunk Cost Fallacy, starting with Trump justifying sending 4000 more troops into Afghanistan in 2017 based on the loss of life so far, then being unable to back down from his mistake about Hurricane Dorian hitting Alabama. In Mark's British Politics Corner we look at Tim Loughton complaining about the ongoing cost of paying the French not to stop migr...

In the eighty-third episode we explore the Double Standard Fallacy, starting with Trump selectively accepting the media 'calling' the election depending on who won, Kayleigh McEnany claiming Biden's phone call to Ghani was impeachable due to a quid pro quo, and Candace Owens invoking absolute medical freedom but definitely not for abortion. In Mark's British Politics Corner we look...

In the eighty-second episode we explore the Appeal to Nature, starting with Trump complaining about artificial light, Mike Pence asking how natural things like CO2 and coal can be bad, and Rand Paul suggesting the natural immunity gained by those who survive a deadly disease is way better than the artificial vaccine and never getting the disease in the first place. In Mark's British Politics C...

In the eighty-first episode we explore the Appeal to Common Folk, starting with Trump claiming he's a blue collar worker, and then claiming he and his followers are actually super elites. Then Don Jr talks about how much he loves trucks, guns and meat. In Mark's British Politics Corner we look at Nigel Farage, who embodies this fallacy. In the Fallacy in the Wild section, we check out exam...

In the eightieth episode we explore the Just World Fallacy, starting with Trump blaming black victims of police shootings for resisting arrest and the site of a mass shooting for not having armed security. Then Eric Trump blames women who are sexually harassed for allowing themselves to be subjected to it, and Mo Brooks blames sick people for not living good lives. In Mark's British Politics C...

In the seventy-ninth episode we explore the Appeal to Accomplishment, starting with Trump talking about how successful his imaginary friend is, and suggesting non-successful people shouldn't be able to criticize people like him. In Mark's British Politics Corner we look at Boris Johnson touting the success of the very unsuccessful Track and Trace system. In the Fallacy in the Wild section,...

In the seventy-eighth episode we explore the McNamara Fallacy, starting with Robert McNamara and Donald Rumsfeld, then moving on to Trump focusing on money instead of the environment and Don Jr equating refugees to Skittles. In Mark's British Politics Corner we look at Boris Johnson focusing on COVID cases to justify lockdowns and switching deaths to justify opening up again when the cases are...

In the seventy-seventh episode we explore Ignoring Linear Time, starting with Trump saying Biden should have already done all the things he promised to do when he became President (including fixing the mess Trump made). In Mark's British Politics Corner we look at Chris Philp defending Priti Patel's stance on immigration reform against claims that if the Tories could fix immigration they a...

In the seventy-sixth episode we explore the Fallacy of Worse Evil, starting with Trump saying Covid could have gone worse, and China is worse than Russia, then Louie Gohmert saying the insurrection wasn't the worse possible thing. In Mark's British Politics Corner we look at Matt Hancock, Dave Caesar and Dominic Cummings claiming Covid could have been (even) worse in the UK. In the Fallacy...

Happy Birthday Fallacious Trump! This is the third of our birthday presents to you - Jim's Skeptics in the Pub talk about his work at the BBFC. Streamed live on 25th March 2021 For over a hundred years, a small, secretive group of people in Soho have decided what you can see in UK cinemas and, more recently, on video and DVD. Who are they, how do they make their decisions, and why was Monty Py...

Happy Birthday Fallacious Trump! This is the second of our birthday presents to you - the second episode of our Q Anon Book Club! In our second Q Anon Book Club episode we look at some of the best proofs Q followers (or 'anons') can come up with, which - as far as they are concerned - prove Q is real to a statistical certainty. Of course, the Q community is big on not being sheeple and doi...

Happy Birthday Fallacious Trump - this is your first of three birthday presents! In the very first episode of our new Q Anon: An Invitation to the Great Awakening book club, we discuss the criminals who run the world and who are either the most famous people you can think of or people behind the scenes who you've never heard of, and the 'good guys' genius plan to unseat the all powerfu...

In the seventy-fifth episode we explore Tokenism, starting by explaining why Trump appearing in a photo with Rosa Parks doesn't mean he's not racist, and looking at other times he claimed he wasn't racist. In Mark's British Politics Corner we look at Sajid Javid not being an ally of the Windrush community, and Matt Hancock lying about Boris Johnson's track record on racism. In...

In the seventy-fourth episode we explore the Accent Fallacy, starting with Trump misrepresenting what Ilhan Omar and Joe Biden said, and Mitt Romney misrepresenting what Obama said. In Mark's British Politics Corner we look at Boris Johnson being intentionally vague about which Bill Labour wants to kill. In the Fallacy in the Wild, we check out examples from My Cousin Vinny, Book of Mormon, Su...

In the seventy-third episode we explore Circular Reasoning, starting with the GOP's reasons for not allowing witnesses in Trump's first impeachment trial, and then Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker arguing against legal weed. In Mark's British Politics Corner we look at the Boris Johnson kind of arguing both for and against lockdowns, and the UK Home Office questioning how sincerely a re...

In the seventy-second episode we explore the Appeal to Sincerity, starting out with Trump sincerely believing Covid is almost over (7 months ago), Democrats are pro-crime, and all his rallies were full. In Mark's British Politics Corner we look at the Boris Johnson being very confident about how well the UK is handling Covid, and Matt Hancock being so pleased with himself he even expects Piers...