I think saying “I am not going to answer that because…” would not necessarily feel like taking a hit to the debater/interviewee. Could also bring scrutiny and pressure to moderators/interviewers to ask fair and relevant questions.
I think people would appreciate the directness. And maybe come to understand the nature of inquiry and truth a tiny bit better.
The problem is that quite often the thing which follows the “because” is the thing that has more prejudicial than informative value, and there’s no (obvious) way around it. Take an example from this debate: if Trump had asked earlier, as commentators seem to think he should have, why Harris as VP has not already done the things she promises to do as President, what should she have answered? The honest answer is that she is not the one currently calling the shots, which is obvious, but it highlights disharmony within the administration. As a purely factual matter, that the VP is not the one calling the shots is true of every single administration. But still, the fact that she would be supposedly willing to say it out loud would be taken to imply that this administration has more internal disharmony than previous ones, which is why no one ever dares saying so: even an obvious assertion (or, more precisely, the fact that someone is asserting it) is Bayesian evidence.
“Directness” is the very thing Trump is renowned for, and his people certainly appreciate it, but do you think the same is true of the other side? I’d expect them to generally prefer the circumlocution of the typical politician.
I think saying “I am not going to answer that because…” would not necessarily feel like taking a hit to the debater/interviewee. Could also bring scrutiny and pressure to moderators/interviewers to ask fair and relevant questions.
I think people would appreciate the directness. And maybe come to understand the nature of inquiry and truth a tiny bit better.
The problem is that quite often the thing which follows the “because” is the thing that has more prejudicial than informative value, and there’s no (obvious) way around it. Take an example from this debate: if Trump had asked earlier, as commentators seem to think he should have, why Harris as VP has not already done the things she promises to do as President, what should she have answered? The honest answer is that she is not the one currently calling the shots, which is obvious, but it highlights disharmony within the administration. As a purely factual matter, that the VP is not the one calling the shots is true of every single administration. But still, the fact that she would be supposedly willing to say it out loud would be taken to imply that this administration has more internal disharmony than previous ones, which is why no one ever dares saying so: even an obvious assertion (or, more precisely, the fact that someone is asserting it) is Bayesian evidence.
“Directness” is the very thing Trump is renowned for, and his people certainly appreciate it, but do you think the same is true of the other side? I’d expect them to generally prefer the circumlocution of the typical politician.