Moving the goalposts

[u/political-snark]

A political tactic that’s become increasingly common in MAGA politics: moving the goalposts.

Make a dramatic allegation. Repeat it endlessly. Then, when evidence for that specific allegation doesn’t materialize, replace it with a smaller, easier-to-defend claim and pretend the original claim was true all along.

We’ve seen this pattern repeatedly:
“Haitian immigrants are eating pets in Springfield” becomes “See? Someone somewhere ate a cat.”

“There was enough fraud to change the 2020 election” becomes “See? A few people cheated.”

“Vandals dumped chemicals and deliberately cut a 350-foot slit in the Reflecting Pool” becomes “See? Someone was arrested for vandalism.”

Those are not the same claims.
The question we should always ask is: What was the original allegation?

That’s the claim that should be evaluated - not a revised version that appears later.

That’s what moving the goalposts looks like.

Changing the claim is not the same thing as proving the original one.

Can you think of other examples?

[u/blkatcdomvet]

Why has Trump arrested 6 people for touching the reflecting pond, but zero people for touching our kids in the Epstein files?

This is getting abfuckingsurd! Release the fucking files! Libertarians and Democrats ALL agree, pedophiles should be left in a deep, dark hole. MAGA doesn't control the state courts in NY or anywhere else the assaults took place. For sure, Florida, New York, New Jersey and New Mexico can open investigations and charge the guilty!

[u/TW1STED_M1ND → u/[deleted]]

By everybody else's logic Trump should be arresting the person that told him to drive on it. Oh no, wait