Inter se pugnantia (in’-ter-say-pug-nan’-ti-a): Using direct address to reprove someone before an audience, pointing out the contradictions in that person’s character, often between what a person does and says.
He says he’s a leader, but the plutocrats pull his strings. He says he’s a peacemaker, but we’re mired in wars. He says he’s our friend, but he spies on us all. He says he loves his neighbor, but he lives in a fortress.
Puppet. Warmonger. Traitor. Liar.
What can we do?
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Definition courtesy of “Silva Rhetoricae” (rhetoric.byu.edu).
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