Donald Trump said some vulgar things a decade ago. In the grand traditions of “three can keep a secret if two are dead” and “always assume a microphone is live,” his words have come back to haunt his campaign. Everyone is outraged, the GOP leadership is calling for him to step down from his bid for the presidency, and he issued an apology.

In his apology, he asserted that Bill Clinton’s past behaviors are a worse transgression than Trump’s “locker-room talk,” and that Hillary Clinton’s denigrations of Clinton’s accusers or alleged victims are a clear demonstration that she’s a hypocrite for criticizing Trump’s behavior.

In the language of argument and logic, this is known as a tu quoque, which loosely translates to “you too.” It’s a version of appeal-to-hypocrisy, and is a logical fallacy in that it doesn’t actually undermine the original challenge.

Politics, however, isn’t a game of logic, a formalized debate, or a series of rigorous proofs. This poses the question – is tu quoque a legitimate response in this situation? “You’re a hypocrite” is a highly favored political weapon, and has been used with great effectiveness against moralizing politicians whose private behaviors contradict their public statements.

In this case, with the ugliness of this campaign, I don’t see how Trump going tu quoque is inappropriate. It’s not a defense of his words, but, please, if you are surprised by this latest revelation, you haven’t been paying attention. It is a counterattack that befits this farce of an election where our primary choices are merely different versions of awful.

• About the Author

About Peter Venetoklis

I am twice-retired, a former rocket engineer and a former small business owner. At the very least, it makes for interesting party conversation. I'm also a life-long libertarian, I engage in an expanse of entertainments, and I squabble for sport.

Nowadays, I spend a good bit of my time arguing politics and editing this website.

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