Watching Trump suggest that maybe shining bright lights inside of people or disinfecting their insides is something to look into, I was struck by how we see such nonsense framed this way all the time from a certain segment of society.

The old, I'm just asking questions, play.

Because of course, we learn as children not to ingest disinfectant. I'm sure Trump learned this too.

But this tactic is used to introduce known falsehoods into discussions, to introduce ideas and topics already disproven. We see this around race, gender, sexuality etc.

It tends to occur anytime a dominant or privileged group is challenged in their dominance or privilege.

Make people argue about what has already been resolved, thus never actually advancing the discussion.

Some would call this gaslighting.

Whatever you call it, it's always disingenuous, it's always a tactic to obfuscate, and it's always worth noting in order to understand the real motive.

Marginalized folks are used to this, as it's an almost daily occurrence.