EverydaySpy Podcast - How to Stay Three Steps Ahead of the Next President

Episode Date: September 29, 2020

The 2020 Presidential debates begin tonight and both candidates are going to lie to your face without getting caught. How? Using a mental loophole that politicians, advertisers and dictators have used for generations. In this episode, Andrew prepares you to see through debate deceptions and distractions so you can see the truth that millions of other voters will miss. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

My name is Andrew Bustamante, and this is everyday espionage. My daughter announced earlier this week that she is the best hiker in the world. Now, for all you trail junkies out there, I'm sorry to tell you that my three-year-old daughter has already claimed the top hiking title for herself. We had just finished a short trail in North Georgia. And at the top of the trail, there was an overlook. The wind was whipping, and when my daughter-A-law looked over the edge, she made this guffawing laugh that I almost never get to hear, and then she couldn't stop smiling.

The whole hike back to the car, which was a whopping half mile, she couldn't stop talking about how proud she was of hiking by herself. At first she started saying, I'm a good hiker. And then about halfway to the car, that turned into, I'm a great hiker. And then, of course, as we reached the car, she proclaimed daddy, I am the best hiker in the world. Now, if you're anything like me, a three-year-old boasting victory is endearing and cute. It's even inspiring since so often the information around us is so negative and judgmental. But tonight, two grown men are going to do exactly what my daughter did, boast about their victory, and tear down each other's success. and you are unlikely to feel inspired by the time they are done.

You see, tonight is the first of three planned presidential debates between President Donald Trump and presidential hopeful Joe Biden. In the middle of a global pandemic and economic crisis and a deeply divided American public, you are about to master information better than you ever thought possible. Today I am going to tell you exactly how both candidates, We'll use logical fallacies against you tonight to attack each other, to lie to your face, and to try to win your vote. We are taught to believe that presidential debates are a chance for us to hear competing candidates

answer important questions that matter to all Americans. But in reality, these debates are less about reaching all Americans and more about reaching a very special few Americans. Now, Trump and Biden both already know they are going to win the vote of their strongest supporters, a group known as their base. Debates like the one happening tonight are never going to make a base-level supporter change their mind. So the show isn't really for them. Then you've got the uninformed and disenfranchised masses out there who have no interest and no intention to vote.

They also won't be tuning in tonight or following tomorrow's headlines about the presidential debates. So again, these debates aren't really intended for them either. To both candidates, the most important audience right now is the audience that hasn't quite made up their mind yet. Those undecided voters who have not yet chosen to vote for Trump, Biden, or some other candidate altogether. And that undecided group, that group, that group, group in the middle is hard to predict because they value a wide range of issues, beliefs, and events. To help undecided voters decide how to vote, these presidential debates are extremely important. And just like you have been learning with me this season, both candidates also know that people make emotional choices.

And emotional choices can be turned into emotional votes. When public officials want to use emotion to influence voters into action, their secret weapon is none other than logical fallacies. Now you've been learning all about these fallacies with me for the last four weeks. Now is the perfect time to apply what you've learned. I want to share three logical fallacies that both candidates will use tonight to lie to you and try to trigger your emotions tonight and again each time they debate over the next two months. There are a lot more than three logical fallacies that you're going to see tonight, but I'm only choosing these top three because you're going to see them the most.

If you want a full rundown of all the fallacies that politicians use during debates, go ahead and head over to Everydayspy.com forward slash debates and take a look at my new e-book, Decoding Debates. Decoding Debating Debates is a skeleton key for seeing through the coming debate season. If you love politics and you love world events, hit pause, jump online, and visit Everydayspy.com forward slash debates. I think you're going to love what I have waiting for you. Okay.

Now for the good stuff. The first logical fallacy that you are going to see tonight is called questionable cause. Questionable cause is known as a fallacy of sufficiency because it happens anytime an argument can't be proven by the information provided. For example, my son came up to me the other day, and said that he had a headache after eating his lunch. He said he felt good until he ate his apple slices. Then he told me that he thinks he might be allergic to apples. Now, I love my son, and I believe fully that he got a headache just like he said after he finished his apples. His

argument is complete, but it isn't logical because he's assigning the cause of his headache to apples. Instead of considering any other reason, he might have had a headache, like being tired, or being out of breath, or being hungry. Not to mention the fact that he chose to eat his apples that day while hanging upside down in his dining room chair. Now, I've hung upside down before, and it's not pleasant. It virtually guarantees you a headache after just a few minutes. But still, my son made the claim that he thought he was allergic. to apples. Questionable cause is a popular fallacy, especially during presidential debates, because it breaks

complex issues down into simple emotional punchlines. Trump and Biden already have a habit of using questionable cause when they talk about things like COVID-19, national security policy, the economy, and especially race relations right now in the United States. Each of these are complex issues. They have a lot of history. They have a lot of moving parts. It's impossible to connect any of these issues to a single cause.

But both candidates will try to do it tonight. And now, when they try, you'll be able to catch it when it happens. The next logical fallacy that you're going to see tonight from both candidates is called an appeal to emotion. Appeals to emotion is known as a fallacy of relevance, meaning that the information included in the argument is actually not relevant to the argument itself. Yes, you heard me right. You're not crazy if you're feeling confused right now. I just told you that the two men competing for leader of the free world are going to answer

questions on national television using information that is completely and totally irrelevant to the topic being asked. Now, while the idea might be shocking at first, It's devilishly clever when you look a little closer. Have you ever had someone interrupt a conversation or a meal to tell you about a car that's being towed away? They usually say something like, excuse me, sir, excuse me, ma'am, do you drive a white Honda fit with license plate, one, two, three, four, five? Now, especially if you've ever lived in a city with limited parking, every time the question about a car being towed comes up, the reaction is always the same. same. Instant terror. But that terror only lasts a moment until the person realizes the car being

towed is not their car. But the most interesting thing happens next. Because that same person, then the terror disappears from their face and they ask, what were we just talking about? Boom. That's the magic spot. That's where you have it. That is the power of appealing to emotion and the appeals to emotion fallacy. Tonight you are going to hear both candidates talk about police violence, coronavirus, unemployment, extremism, and immigration. They're going to talk about it for one reason to distract you from whatever the original question was. They want to make you emotional for just a moment, fearful, angry, hopeful, proud,

just long enough to get you to forget what the original topic was. so that the candidate can take over the conversation and use it to either boast about himself or attack his opponent. This is a classic presidential debate strategy. The final fallacy that you're going to see tonight is called false equivalent. False equivalent is known as a fallacy of clarity. And that's because in this fallacy, the argumenters use unclear evidence to equate two or more things. together. My wife's parents were recently visiting us. During that visit, my mother-in-law insisted on hand-washing the dishes after every meal, even though we have a perfectly good dishwasher in the kitchen. My wife was getting frustrated, and I thought she was getting frustrated because

of the dishes. But when I told Ji not to worry about the dishes, she said that what was bothering her was actually the kitchen table. Ghi was noticing that her mom was kind of constantly cleaning the kitchen table, which is something that Ghi also does when her mom isn't around. But seeing her mom do it day in and day out at our house upset Ghi to the point where she told me that she thought she was turning into her own mother. I can't believe it, babes. That's what she told me. And it really upset her. This is a perfect example of false equivalent. A false equivalent is a logical fallacy that politicians, and apparently parents, love to use. The fact that Jihe and her mom both clean the kitchen table does not conclude that the two are the same in any other way.

Even the way that they clean the table is actually different, which only underscores how logically different they are. But what happens during presidential debates is that opponents highlight small similarities, and then blow them up to accuse each other of larger, more inaccurate offenses. For example, if one candidate votes against international military aggression, the opponent will say that that person is anti-military and soft on national security. If one candidate supports pro-life legislation, the opponent will say that they're murdering innocent lives and stripping women of their rights. These are examples of false equivalent,

and you will see these fallacies come to life tonight and throughout the presidential and vice presidential debates this year. Remember, these debates are designed for a small subset of Americans. Only those who intend to vote but have not yet chosen their final candidate. Many more will tune in. Many people will watch who have already decided who they're going to vote for. Many will tune in as background noise, even though they have no intention of voting. but if you are part of that target audience, that group of voters who will determine the future of our country this November, this is your chance to get an extra tool in your pocket to master information that will be thrown at you tonight and again over the next two months.

Questionable cause, appeals to emotion, and false equivalent will work to convince millions of voters how to vote tonight. The tools in my e-book to coding debates will convince millions more how to vote in the coming weeks. But now you know how to spot these fallacies when they happen. You'll learn even more if you head over to Everydayspy.com forward slash debates and take a look at my e-book. When you can see through the lies and false logic to prevent others from triggering your emotions, you gain a powerful advantage over the world around you. Because in the end, your choices, your actions, and your decisions are the most important tools you have to achieve the future you want. And that is everyday espionage.

Everyday espionage is dedicated to one thing, educating everyday people. I know that not everyone will listen, but those who listen will learn. If you learned something new today, click subscribe, review, and share. share the podcast with a friend. Find me on social media at EverydaySpy or on my website, Everydayspy.com. If you are up for a special challenge, visit Everydayspy.com forward slash operations

and join me for an authentic spy training mission. And above all else, remember that knowledge is freedom.