Poison the Well in the United States

Poison the Well (in Politics)

Related to political science, the following is a definition of Poison the Well in the U.S. practice of politics: A rhetorical device often used by politicians where adverse information is pre-emptively presented to an audience, with the intention of discrediting or ridiculing what another politician intends to say.

The origin of the term lies in well poisoning, an old wartime practice of pouring poison into sources of fresh water before an invading army, to diminish the attacking army’s strength.