Fallacious Trump

In the fifty-sixth episode we explore the Accelerating Truth Fallacy, starting with Trump claiming Robert Mueller really wanted to be his FBI Director. In Mark's British Politics Corner we look at the media's approach to a recent invasion of the UK by a few people in a rubber dinghy. In the Fallacy in the Wild, we check out examples from a BBC documentary about Lewis Carroll, Twitter, and...

In the fifty-fifth episode we explore the Base Rate Fallacy, starting with Trump boasting that the police kill loads of white people and falsely claiming he rebuilt the military. In Mark's British Politics Corner we look at Boris Johnson and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez arguing about who's more coronavirusy. In the Fallacy in the Wild, we check out examples from Letterkenny and QI...

In the fifty-fourth episode we explore the Appeal to Ridicule, starting with Trump asking if he should tell the FBI every time he talks to the Queen, and claiming Biden is anti-windows. In Mark's British Politics Corner we look at Matt Hancock laughing instead of answering a question. In the Fallacy in the Wild, we check out examples from Dave Gorman, House M.D., and Friends. Jim and Mark go h...

In the fifty-third episode we explore the Appeal to the Law, starting with Trump and Giuliani claiming that paying off Stormy Daniels and colluding with Russia were both fine because there's no law against it. Then we heard Louie Gohmert using a child's excuse for disrupting a Congressional hearing. In Mark's British Politics Corner we look at Dominic Cumming's defence for breaking...

In the fifty-second episode we explore the Overextended Outrage Fallacy, starting with Trump attacking immigrants, and following that up with Trump attacking protesters. In Mark's British Politics Corner we look at Priti Patel's outrage over statues being destroyed. In the Fallacy in the Wild, we check out examples from X Men, Star Trek: Picard, and Jaws. Jim and Mark go head to head in Fa...

In the fifty-first episode we explore the Argument by Rhyme Fallacy, inspired by Trump's "When the looting starts, the shooting starts" tweet. Then we hear some more fun with words from Trump and Kellyanne Conway. In Mark's British Politics Corner we look at the Boris's rhetorical devices which Boris is convinced make him sound like Churchill. In the Fallacy in the Wild, we che...

In the fiftieth (yay!) episode we explore the Alleged Certainty Fallacy, starting with Trump claiming that everyone knows what crimes Obama committed. Then we hear 50 other things everyone knows according to Trump. In Mark's British Politics Corner we look at the government attempting to explain how Staying Alert is better than Staying Home. In the Fallacy in the Wild, we check out examples fr...

In the forty-ninth episode we explore the Historical Fallacy, starting with Tucker Carlson claiming that since we flattened the curve, the lockdowns weren't necessary. In Mark's British Politics Corner we look at Boris Johnson claiming success and telling everyone how much worse it could have been. In the Fallacy in the Wild, we check out examples from Knowing and climate change denier Pat...

In the forty-eighth episode we explore the No True Scotsman Fallacy, starting with Trump calling Republicans who disagree with him RINOs. In Mark's British Politics Corner we look at Ken Clarke being accused of not being a Conservative. In the Fallacy in the Wild, we check out examples from The Simpsons and Bill O'Reilly. Jim and Mark go head to head in a very easy game of Fake News, the g...

In the forty-seventh episode we explore the Rhetorical Question Fallacy, starting with Trump accusing healthcare workers of theft, and then impugning the integrity of a judge. In Mark's British Politics Corner we look at Boris attacking Jeremy Corbyn and Nigel Farage asking why we're really staying indoors right now. In the Fallacy in the Wild, we check out examples from Glenn Beck, South...

In the forty-sixth episode we explore the Hedging Fallacy, starting with Trump lying about always knowing it was a pandemic, and then lying about Google's coronavirus website. In Mark's British Politics Corner we look at lots of Tories lying about the £350 million they promised the NHS and then Priti Patel backtracking on the importance of low-skilled workers. In the Fallacy in the Wild, w...

In the forty-fifth episode we explore the Appeal to Flattery Fallacy, starting with Trump tweeting compliments about the Prime Minister of Sweden and then lying to his supporters about how smart they are. In Mark's British Politics Corner we look at Boris Johnson flattering the people who voted for him and then his father Stanley Johnson covering for him with some environmental protesters. In...

In the forty-fourth episode we explore the Wrong Tool Fallacy, starting with Trump using the Dow Jones as a measure of the entire economy and Jared Kushner using number of pages as a measure of the quality of his Middle East peace plan. In Mark's British Politics Corner we look at the very concept of democracy itself, and then watch Arron Banks pit his high-school history against an actual exp...

In the forty-third episode we explore the Nirvana Fallacy, starting with Trump lying about the Iran nuclear deal. In Mark's British Politics Corner we look at Nigel Farage complaining that the perfect version of Brexit wasn't happening. In the Fallacy in the Wild, we check out examples from Penn and Teller, and Chapo Trap House host Will Menaker, and Jim rants a little bit about Bernie Bro...

In the forty-second episode we explore the Ad Hominem Circumstantial fallacy, starting with Trump tweeting about John Bolton's book and lying about Democrats wanting the wall. In Mark's British Politics Corner we look at Boris Johnson being confronted in a hospital and David Cameron lying about getting a letter from Ed Milliband In the Fallacy in the Wild, we check out examples from Ali G...

In the forty-first episode we explore the Faulty Analogy fallacy, starting with Trump talking about running the country like a business, comparing growth figures with China and suggesting we ban cars. In Mark's British Politics Corner we look at Ivan Lewis not calling a by-election and Boris Johnson talking nonsense about lobsters. In the Fallacy in the Wild, we check out examples from The Sim...

In the fortieth episode we explore the Texas Sharpshooter fallacy, starting with Trump talking about new job numbers, claiming he intended the UN to laugh at him, and tweeting the only good metric from a very bad poll. In Mark's British Politics Corner we look at the post hoc claims of YouGov's polling methodology, and rival recruiting firms' very different takes on the same data.. In...

Merry Impeachmas! In the thirty-ninth episode we explore Invincible Ignorance, starting with examples from Trump talking about climate change and the Central Park 5 before hearing from some of his supporters on the importance of reading the transcript. In Mark's British Politics Corner we look at Tory MPs convinced that terrible withdrawal agreements are the best, and Nicky Morgan and Matt Han...

In the thirty-eighth episode we explore Shifting the Burden of Proof, starting with examples from Trump tweeting about fraudulent votes and then talking about drones shot down near Iran. In Mark's British Politics Corner we look at Boris Johnson and Michael Gove dodging reporters questions and Jo Swinson suggesting the reporter go and do the research. In the Fallacy in the Wild, we check out e...

In the thirty-seventh episode we explore the Counterfactual Fallacy, starting with examples from Trump talking about hypothetical wars with North Korea, and the terrible economy that would have happened if he hadn't won the election. In Mark's British Politics Corner we look at Boris Johnson and David Cameron talking about what would have happened if Brexit votes had gone differently. In t...

In the thirty-sixth episode we explore Equivocation, starting with examples from Mick Mulvaney talking about Ukraine, and Trump tweeting about Hillary and The Failing New York Times. In Mark's British Politics Corner we look at Lisa Nandy talking to radio host Mike Graham about Brexit. In the Fallacy in the Wild, we check out examples from Alice in Wonderland, Monty Python and Abbott and Coste...

In the thirty-fifth episode we explore Begging the Question, starting with examples from Trump talking about fake news, the Democratic debates and the Emmys. In Mark's British Politics Corner we look at Stephen Barclay and Sajid Javid's claims about the new Brexit deal. In the Fallacy in the Wild, we check out examples from Porridge and The Simpsons. Jim and Mark go head to head in a game...

In the thirty-fourth episode we explore the Appeal to Fear, starting with examples from Trump talking about sanctuary cities, Muslims and Civil War. In Mark's British Politics Corner we look at Priti Patel using scare tactics to warn people about Labour, and Boris Johnson having his cake and eating it. In the Fallacy in the Wild, we check out examples from Arrested Development, Mean Girls and...

Jim's moving house this week, so we thought you might like a free episode of our bonus series where we talk about Bob Woodward's book Fear: Trump in the White House. Enjoy - and we'll be back with a regular episode in two weeks. PS: Mark's microphone had a bit of a problem during this episode, so apologies for the slight reduction in sound quality part of the way through Advertisin...

In the thirty-third episode we explore the Red Herring Fallacy, starting with examples from Trump claiming he'll knock the hell out of Isis to distract from the pussy grabbing tape and then insulting a Gold Star family. In Mark's British Politics Corner we look at Boris Johnson using an actual smoked herring as a red herring, and then not answering a question in creative ways. In the Falla...