Watch the first minute of this clip to see Hillary Clinton use the “liar’s dodge” to avoid Jimmy Kimmel’s direct question “Are you in good health?”

When you ask an honest, healthy person if they are in good health, they say, “Yes.” They might also ask why you are inquiring. They might add some details. But they usually answer the question.

Clinton never answered the question about her health. All she did was mock the Trump supporters who keep bringing it up. Clinton intentionally avoided the question while skillfully making you think she addressed it.

This is similar to Donald Trump’s technique in the first debate, when Megyn Kelly asked him about his sexist comments of the past. To avoid answering the question, Trump cleverly mentioned Rosie O’Donnell and used that witticism to run out the clock and avoid the question entirely.

Clinton used a similar maneuver to avoid answering the question of her wellness. She turned the question into a bigger question about the crazy people who keep questioning her health, and she ran out the clock. Kimmel never got back to his question.

If I hadn’t pointed out that Clinton avoided answering the question, you would misremember that she had answered it. That’s good persuasion. In television shows of this type, the producers always tell the guest in advance what the questions will be. Someone with weapons-grade persuasion skills coached Clinton how to dodge the question while making you think she answered it.

Someone like…Godzilla?

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