I was challenged to look at a speech or debate that has taken place somewhat recently and break down the logical issues with it. So I asked myself, where is the easiest place to find logical fallacies? To anyone familiar with the American presidential debate, the answer is obvious: Donald Trump. If Donald Trump loses the election, his speeches will be shown in what not to do seminars, if not then we’ll never be able to say anything negative about him again.
With an idea finally in my head I decided to watch his speech about not letting Muslims into America. After I stopped crying, I started breaking down the things he said. First of all a little background: the premise for his speech was that all Muslims should not be aloud into America because 25% of Muslims who were surveyed said that they thought that violent actions against Americans were justified under the Jihad. This information was taken from Pew research and others. Which others? I doubt we’ll ever know. If that’s not enough evidence for you don’t worry, he gives us more. Oh wait, never mind. Instead of backing up his claims with more evidence he convinces his audience slandering those 25%. Within 30 seconds of presenting this fact, those 25 percent of Muslims surveyed have gone from people who believe that violent acts against Americans are justified under the Jihad to people who, and I quote “believe only in Jihad… and have no sense of reason or respect for human life.” The evidence for this? Only that 25% of the surveyed Muslims thought that violent acts against Americans were justified. I want to see the results of the survey of how many Americans think that violent actions against Muslims are justified because of horrors like 9/11. My guess is that it’s pretty much the same numbers if not greater
So besides a lack of evidence, what were the major logical fallacies presented in this speech? One of the most obvious ones is Composition/Division which is assuming that one part of something has to be applied to all other parts of it. He does this with the Muslim Faith. He says that America should outlaw all Muslims from entering the country because 25% of them think violent acts against Americans are justified. Do you know who thinks that those acts are unjustified? 75% of the Muslims who were surveyed. But just to keep it safe, we should probably ban all of them.
Trump says that “[America has] no choice.” Really? This is the only option you can possibly think of? According to Trump there are only two options: let them in and have continued violence against Americans, or don’t let them in, and you wont have problems. There is no middle ground. This logical fallacy is called black and white, although in this scenario brown and white is probably closer to the truth.
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Michael,
I really enjoyed reading your post! The conversational and sometimes sarcastic tone that you used gave the post humor, but didn’t take away from all that you were saying. The line where you said, “If that’s not enough evidence for you don’t worry, he gives us more. Oh wait, never mind,” I found hilarious and kind of summed up that witty and conversational tone. The only thing I think you could add is maybe the article title so that the reader can go back and look at it for themselves while thinking through the logical fallacies that you mentioned. Great job! 🙂
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Michael, this was an enjoyable post! You were able to use humor, criticism, and a flow of ‘logic’ that allowed the reader to have interest in your post. Also, your specific example of a user of fallacies provided good support. Your specific naming of fallacies that followed was also greatly informative. In writing with a clear, central topic, your opinion and voice speaks through. One small thing you could improve on, is your ending that seemed rather abrupt. A good conclusion could be a thing you could consider. Other than that, well done!
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Michael.
I wrote my blog post on the same topic and I entirely agree with you. Trump uses that stat of 25% to justify his claim about banning all Muslims from entering the United States. He uses the 25% and considers that “all Muslims” because not all Muslims are believers of violence against the Americans is justified under Jihad.
You wrote this post really and really went to depth how Trump misuses stats and provides no middle ground for this whole situation. Your middle paragraph does a great job of explaining the issue and you have a smooth transition to the next explaining the logical fallacy. Your blog post is in a very organized manner and easy to follow your points. I enjoyed your casual humor slipped in the blog, it really does make the post interesting to read and also shows your feelings towards to the topic.
Really enjoyed your post well done !!!!!!!!!
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“I want to see the results of the survey of how many Americans think that violent actions against Muslims are justified because of horrors like 9/11.” Such a good point.
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