In debating his opponents, Mr. Trump uses a particular style of argument that is enormously effective on the third-grade demographic:Some years ago, when the Incomparable Marge took our daughter to see The Nutcracker at Lincoln Center, she found herself two rows directly behind the Donald and his then-wife. They spent the performance in serious smooching, ignoring the dancing on-stage, and chowing on snacks. An altogether cringe-worthy performance.
OPPONENT. I believe you are mistaken in your inference.Because it is not usually encountered outside the playground, this rhetorical figure does not have a common name. Dr. Boli will therefore give it one, and call it the argumentum ad vultum, the argument against the face or countenance.
TRUMP. You’re ugly.
OPPONENT. What I mean is that there is overwhelming scientific evidence to support my assertion that vaccines do not cause autism.
TRUMP. I mean, seriously, who puts a face like that on network TV?
Sunday, September 20, 2015
Argumentum ad vultum
Dr. Boli makes the following observation:
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I vote we refer to Trump supporters as "Tommies", because they think Trumpy can do magic things.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35U255Si7C0
He's just saying what we're all thinking--if we are all thinking, "Oink."
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