Originally published at: How to beat Trump's infamous debating tactic: gish galloping | Boing Boing
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Not patting him on the head, giving him a juice box, and asking if he feels better after his tantrum?
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If anyone is wondering, the term “Gish Gallop” comes from amazing atheist and anthropologist Eugenie Scott, in reference to creationist “debater” Duane Gish. Gish invented this style of swamping the conversation with truthy-sounding factoids that take a lot of time to debunk and thus the other person can’t keep up in a live debate.
Gish Galloping is now the norm in creationist, conspiracy, and other similar circles. So much so that the wisdom among rationalists and atheists now with regarding to debating them is “Don’t”.
You can’t win any rhetorical points against a Gish Galloper, and by appearing opposite them on a debate stage, all you are doing is lending your credibility to their nonsense.
The only winning move is to play a different game. Debunk them in writing and other long forms where the proper space can be given for science and reason. Live debates and YouTube comments are not the right medium.
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Seriously??! How about say nothing, give the middle finger, turn around, and walk away? There’s a reason the Globe Trotters don’t play the Lakers in “real” bball, right? I’d like to think it’s bc the NBA still has their wits about them, and understand the difference between the state of the art in the actual sport vs. showbiz. This distinction apparently escapes the modern day Republicans and the media that play along like…oh…it’s all part of the “process” so we’ll just report it!
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Ignoring what is said to you and sticking to your prepared talking points is how British politicians are taught to deal with interviews. In other words, bat away tough questions from a well-prepared interviewer (like Jonathan Swan) as if they are a Gish Gallop of irrelevant nonsense.
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We recently saw it at work in a couple of FPPs from friend of BB and woo peddler Mitch Horowitz. The reaction in the comments was pretty much what was advised here: call out the tactic and point out the most laughingly fact- or logic-deficient claims. Since Horowitz wisely doesn’t venture into the comments there’s no real back and forth to be had with him.
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Gish Galloping is hard to combat because you can ramble for a couple minutes, each sentence being a lie, and if you fail to counter just one thing they said, they will latch on to it and call it a win.
If you’re actually arguing with someone, you have to call it out and get them to commit to one argument at a time.
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It depends on who you’re trying to convince.
Honestly, a Gish Galloper will do that anyway. That’s the thing, they’re not just machine-gunning you with things that are wrong, they’re doing so with deliberate lies, whether it’s a lie of fact or a lie of interpretation or a lie of omission. Finishing up with “and my opponent failed to address this argument”, or “my opponent failed to address all of my arguments”, or “failed to address any of my arguments” or “was himself lying” is just one more lie to put on top of the pile. Even if you did conclusively demolish every argument they made, they would just lie about you doing it. Because they’re not arguing to you, they’re arguing to people who are convinced by their truthiness and rhetorical style, not facts.
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I wonder what happens when a gish galloper debates another gish galloper?
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… yeah but his opponents don’t necessarily have the power to do that 
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Gallop gishing?
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Oh that sounds like more fun!
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I tried watching the attached interview and almost started getting nauseous. I’d almost forgotten how exhausting it was to listen to trump talk and especially debate as I’ve intentionally avoided listening to him since early in his presidency unless I really had to.
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It’s not even debating, it’s just running out the clock by spewing verbal diarrhea and confusing your opponent with bad faith garbage.
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also stalking around the wrong side of the stage
if nobody stops him that proves he’s “the alpha”
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It’s just typing
(Apologies to Truman Capote)
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Or crapping (out the mouth, a la verbal diarrhea).
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Even in the interview showing the “effectiveness” of the recommended technique, aside from the few moments of getting really and truly called out, T was given all that time to spew his lies. 
Maybe the only effective tactic is to host a game of “two lies and a truth.” But even that is optimistic with these guys.
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