Although amusing, Mike Huckabee’s campaign advertisement entitled “Chuck Norris Approved” for the recent presidential election completely revolves around a logical fallacy. In particular, Huckabee’s campaign team utilizes false authority in order to promote Huckabee to the general public. Chuck Norris, a famous action star and recent pop culture icon, officially endorses Huckabee while explaining Huckabee’s views on some major issues. Huckabee, on the other hand, explains why Chuck Norris’s opinion should matter. Unfortunately, from a logical perspective, reasons like “when Chuck Norris does a pushup, he isn’t lifting himself up, he’s pushing the Earth down” do not quite warrant political respect. Chuck Norris is an actor, a far cry from anything related to politics, so his opinion should not really be considered when entering the polling booths. Nonetheless, Norris’s popularity, especially among American youth, may have actually gained Huckabee some votes. This is the perfect example of a logical fallacy that is so blatantly obvious that it actually becomes effective. Huckabee uses false authority to explain some of his standpoints on serious issues while showcasing his sense of humor. Even though this logical fallacy is used intentionally and facetiously, it still can be considered a good example of false authority and some of the problems that can arise from such an argument.
Watch the Mike Huckabee “Chuck Norris Approved” ad below:
while yes clearly chuck norris is not adding anything truthful to the campaign. it is nice to see a politician add some lightheartedness to a campaign. plus campaigns are full of fallacies and half truths so im not truly worried that chuck norris is going to fool anyone into thinking what he says is the truth.
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