Evaluation of Example 13: Gov. Haley's Refusal to Answer
Passage:
“On a media blitz across the state [S.C. Governor]
Nikki Haley was asked a question — a rather simple question — by
[Gina] Smith [a reporter for the State newspaper]. ‘Gina,
I am not going to answer any of your questions,’ the governor responded.
… Haley posted the following on her Facebook page:
‘In response to my refusal to answer Gina Smith's question today;
she is the same report[er] that (1) wrote a Front Page, Above the Fold
story about me being indicted, with no truth what so ever[sic]. (2) She
went on to write a story about my 14 year old daughter without having the
facts.”
Richard S. Whiting, “Governor, Take a Lesson
From GWF,” Index-Journal 94 no. 118
(26 Aug. 2012), 8A.
Analsyis:
No argument is offered, so no fallacy is present.
Gov. Haley is explaining why she did not answer a reporter's question. The
passage might be considered a rhetorical ad hominem in sense that the
reporter's behavior, rather than the reporter's question, was the
motivation for Governor Haley's lack of response.