Blog 6: Fallacies
Donald Trump/Hillary Clinton Debate (Time: 1:46-2:34) In the media clip, Donald Trump argues that Hillary Clinton should return donations given to the Clinton Foundation by countries with poor human rights records. He suggests that by accepting funds from nations that oppress women and LGBTQIA+ individuals, she condones their harmful practices. The fallacy here is ad hominem. Instead of addressing Clinton’s policies, Trump attacks her character and integrity by associating her with countries that have questionable human rights practices. By focusing on her acceptance of funds from these countries, he implies that her morals are flawed without reference to her actual political arguments. The fallacy weakens the argument by shifting the focus away from Clinton’s qualifications to an unrelated criticism. Rather than offering evidence against her political stances, it attacks her character. This makes the argument less persuasive because it appears more as an attempt to discredit her pers...