As would-be law students surfing the wave of the latest law school Trump Bump prepare for the next administration of the LSAT by burying their noses in test prep books, some will be faced with interesting examples about the man who inspired them to go to law school in the first place — examples that are none too complimentary of the president.
As was first reported by the College Fix, the LSAT Prep Book, which was first published in December 2016 and last reprinted on May 24, 2018, contains a passage about Donald Trump in its logical reasoning section that is sure to raise a brow or two. When attempting to explain “reasonableness,” the book provides this example on how to evaluate evidence to reach logical conclusions:
(Photo via Dana Pirrotta/The College Fix; click to enlarge)
Donald Trump is unfit to be President of the United States. He lacks political experience and backs racist policies, such as internment camps and deportation.
The author’s conclusion is that Donald Trump would not be a good president. The author offers Trump’s lack of political experience and supposed racist policies as the evidence, or premises, to justify his conclusion. The author also cites examples of policies. Evaluating the strength of the logical connection between the premises and conclusion is how reasonableness is determined.
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Here’s another thinly veiled reference to Trump in the form of a multiple choice question from a practice test within the book:
(Photo via Dana Pirrotta/The College Fix; click to enlarge)
6. Ronald Thump will be the next President of the United States. His cutthroat business tactics will be quite effective as the nation’s top executive. Mr. Thump’s manipulation of tax and bankruptcy loopholes helped grow his father’s fortune.
The author would most likely agree that:
a. Businessmen always make the best presidents.
b. Ronald Thump is the most successful businessman of all time.
c. Manipulating tax and bankruptcy loopholes is always advisable.
d. Ronald Thump’s fortune would not exist without his father.
e. Business experience is directly relevant to succeeding as president.
Wendy Margolis, a spokesperson for the Law School Admission Council, says Test Prep Books, the book’s publisher, is not an officially recognized provider of LSAT prep material. Per Margolis, official licensed LSAT content is “governed by strict guidelines to avoid bias, and all content undergoes multiple reviews to ensure that there is no bias” — which is certainly not what happened here.
For what it’s worth, we think that if Trump had to take a practice test from this LSAT prep book, he would select letter B as his answer to that multiple choice question.
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LSAT prep test disparages Trump in practice questions: ‘unfit,’ racist, tax cheat [College Fix]
Staci Zaretsky is a senior editor at Above the Law, where she’s worked since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.