One of Many of Trump's Logical Fallacies

Luckily enough for us, with Trump’s participation in the 2016 campaign there is an abundance of logical fallacies. Trump’s recent response to a photo of president Obama playing basketball is not exception to his reputation of logical fallacy. On Twitter, Trump posted, “Why is Obama playing basketball today? That is why our country is in trouble!”

This remark is a hasty generalization. It concludes that because Obama was spotted playing basketball, that he is supposedly creating problems in our country. Trump’s tweet assumes that while Obama is shooting hoops, he is slacking on the job. This statement is a hasty generalization the fact that Obama is playing basketball has nothing to do with our nation’s problems. Trump makes an inductive generalization based on insufficient evidence. He concludes the reason that our country is in trouble without considering all of the variables.

Trump’s tweet is also an ad hominem. He personally attacks Obama for all of the nation’s flaws. He argues against a person rather than a position they are maintaining. Trump rarely attacks a person’s opinion, he always goes straight for the person, which shows how he lacks the necessary knowledge for the campaign debates.

In this tweet and in many of his others, Trump uses absurd logical fallacies in an attempt to "prove" his ideas.