What\u2019s going on here? Trump frequently plays the larger game by throwing out lots of contradictory smaller untruths. Candy to distract a multitude of audiences. And, according to Heer, therein lies the real danger.<\/p>\n

Fact-checkers typically look at individual comments a politician makes and judge them against known evidence. That\u2019s fine so far as it goes, but it simply establishes the accuracy or inaccuracy of that one statement, rather than the pattern of deception or even irrationality at work\u2026.<\/p>\n

To be able to constantly lie and get people to accept contrary statements is, after all, an assertion of power. And it\u2019s a type of power Trump understands all too well.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s really wrong with Trump\u2019s claim of widespread illegal voting fraud isn\u2019t just that it is untrue but also that, when combined with his other comments, it shows Trump doesn\u2019t care about rational logic at all.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

As Heer points out, \u201cUnless we analyze how he\u2019s attacking not just facts but also logic, we can\u2019t measure the full damage he\u2019s doing and respond accordingly.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Faulty logic can be much more dangerous than mere untruths. Sometimes we focus too much on the trees and miss the fact that the forest is on fire.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Donald Trump recently posted a series of tweets slamming Jill Stein’s call for a recount. The contradictory nature of those tweets was a perfect<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":452,"featured_media":35299,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2119,2826],"tags":[2459,2590,2839],"yoast_head":"\n