Fallacy of the Day

A logical fallacy is a failure to adhere to logical progression—that is, jumping aside or over the needed explanations for a conclusion—in argument or debate.

Tu Quoque

Tu quoque (Latin for "you also"), or the appeal to hypocrisy, is an informal logical fallacy that intends to discredit the validity of the opponent's logical argument by asserting the opponent's failure to act consistently in accordance with its conclusions. (Wikipedia)

Tu quoque (pronounced "too quo-quay") is related to several other fallacies, such as 

• "whataboutism" (Hank says, "Your behavior is bad"; Frank says, "But look at Jane's behavior.")

(whataboutism has another relative: "and you are lynching negroes," in which an American criticizes the Soviet treatment of its citizens and the Soviet replies with the phrase in question)

• "two wrongs make a right" (Hank says, "Cheating is bad"; Frank says, "But the test is unfair.") 

I have encountered this in recent weeks. When I asked a Trump supporter how he got past some of Trump's statements, he replied asking how I got past some of Bill Clinton's actions.

For the record, although this post is meant to emphasize how irrelevant the question is, I will say that I was angry—still am—about Bill Clinton's personal behavior. The racier accusations against the Clintons are "fake news" and do not merit repeating.

To turn from a question about Trump's behavior to attacking the Clintons seems to make sense, on the surface. After all, this was an election between DJT and HRC, and many, many people equated the two in negative terms.

In the aftermath of the election, however, I wish to know how a supporter of Trump—not just someone who reluctantly voted against Clinton—can overlook his racist, sexist, and blatantly anti-Constitutional statements.

I'm still waiting.