Not ad hominem? --- I would argue that context vindicates this statement. Although it is not strictly true that everything Trump says is a lie, the absolute vast majority of statements he made that had any import were either lies or half-truths. This makes Trump a liar by definition.

One could argue that the argument remains ad hominem regardless, but in a time-constrained debate, it is impossible to shoot each and every pronouncement down and still convey one's own message. In these circumstances, a statement such as this one really is an abridged version of the truth rather than ad hominem – at least in my opinion.

Source author: André Xuereb andre.xuereb@um.edu.mt