The Tu Quoque Mirror

The Tu Quoque Mirror: The logical fallacy of accusing your opponent of your offenses.

No one has mastered this logical fallacy more than the loser of the 2020 presidential election, Donald J. Trump.

Accused of tampering with an election: Joe Biden and/or Hilary Clinton did it
Accused of improperly handing documents: Joe Biden and/or Hilary Clinton did it
Convicted of falsifying records: Joe Biden and/or Hilary Clinton did it
Convicted of paying hush money: Joe Biden and/or Hilary Clinton did it
Accused of rape, sexual assault, and sexual harassment: Joe Biden and/or Hilary Clinton did it
Accused of witness tampering: Joe Biden and/or Hilary Clinton and/or Hilary Clinton did it
Accused of weaponizing political infrastructures: Joe Biden and/or Hilary Clinton did it
Accused of mishandling the pandemic: Joe Biden and/or Hilary Clinton did it
Accused of foreign misdealing: Joe Biden and/or Hilary Clinton did it
Accused of a porous border: Joe Biden and/or Hilary Clinton did it
Defending Putin, Orban, Xi, or other dictators: Okay, that one’s Trump alone.

And those are the ones that come to mind in 5 minutes. There is no situation where, when accused, Trump doesn’t (without any evidence) turn it around to be his opponent’s offense. 

It is an extension of the ad hominem logical fallacy “whataboutism.” In that simpler (but no less simple-minded) deflection, you turned the argument by putting your opponent on the defensive by eliciting an example of their misdeed—deflection as a defense. And in the age of bumper sticker philosophy and 5-second sound bites, it works. It’s a gotcha moment just waiting to birth a meme. Except it never answers the original charge. And that’s the idea. Cut to commercial. Print the t-shirts. Hang the flags (and the vice president).

The death of debate and the rise of Trump acolytes have resulted in a catastrophically divided country. It has spawned not a political movement but a cult. And like all cults, it is sick—sick from within and diseased at the head. Like their leader, they obfuscate with whataboutism, like “chosen one” like sycophants. But all cults thrive until they don’t. When is that tipping point? Time will tell.

The tu quoque mirror version takes it a step further. Now, you no longer need to research misdeeds by your opponent. You accuse them of yours. It would be elegant if it weren’t childish. It’s Dorian Gray’s portrait, except he does not see himself, and Mr. Gray puts it on display for his cult.

Oscar Wilde may have summarized Trump best when he wrote, “”You will always be fond of me. I represent to you all the sins you have never had the courage to commit.”