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In order for me to describe this “fallacy” coherently, I will write it as an analogy.

So, I was reading how people were saying Trump was not taking the pandemic seriously and he needed to take further action. However, while addressing the financial inequality between the white and black communities in the US, these such people were saying how Trump used the pandemic as an excuse for the lack of reduction in this gap.

So what I’m trying to convey is, these people are saying one thing than proceed to provide a contradictory statement afterwards.

I’m a beginner in all of this so my apologies in advance if this isn’t even a fallacy. Anything similar to this or any guidance will be greatly appreciated.

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    Why are they contradictory? It is shrewd for someone to downplay or play up the same thing as it suits them according to context, so Trump could, in principle, be doing both. And providing inconsistent explanations, that would both exonerate their clients, is a standard tactic of trial lawyers. The idiom "throw everything at the wall to see if it sticks" is often used to describe it.
    – Conifold
    Commented Sep 16, 2020 at 19:26
  • @Conifold Perhaps contradictory isn’t the most precise word. Your provided idiom sums up what I am trying to convey quite well, so thanks for the reply. It is appreciated.
    – henryomahoney
    Commented Oct 3, 2020 at 15:05

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I really don't see how "the people" present contradicting statements. Anyway, did Trump actually use the pandemic as an excuse for the lack of reduction in the gap?

If he did, then I'm sensing a red herring on Trump's part. Economic inequality between the two races existed even before the Covid situation, which is a fairly recent phenomenon. Trump has been in office for more than 3 years now. That was plenty of time to at least try and fix the gap, so blaming it on the Coronavirus just seeks to draw attention away from the real answer(s).

If he didn't, then I'm a sensing a straw man on "the people's" part. They are simply misrepresenting Trump's argument because he never said that which he is being accused of.

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  • Hey, sorry for the late reply. Your answer is pretty accurate to what I am looking for so I’m going to mark it as the answer. Thanks.
    – henryomahoney
    Commented Oct 3, 2020 at 15:02

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