Braingle: 'A Democrat and a Republican' Brain Teaser

A Democrat and a Republican

Logic puzzles require you to think. You will have to be logical in your reasoning.

Puzzle ID:	#119
Fun:	(2.52)
Difficulty:	(1.59)
Category:	Logic
Submitted By:	Phyllis
Corrected By:	silvermoonisis

A Democrat and a Republican are being interviewed.

"I am a Republican", says the man.

"I am a Democrat", says the woman. Assume that at least one of them is lying. Which one is it?

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Comments

Mike1313 Sep 17, 2001	The people could be lying about their sexuality. You never know.
SourGir1986 Jan 29, 2003	That was.... really silly.
accordionman Sep 24, 2004	I said both because they are polliticians.
blondinthebrain Apr 14, 2005	I honestly do not get this teaser!
darthforman Apr 25, 2005	That is a good teaser. Which one is lying after telling only one sentence. Since they is one of each, they both must be lying. Good one.
converse_chik Oct 22, 2005	i have no logistical thinking, but i tried! good teaser tho
Kalliann Nov 04, 2005	This is more of a joke than a teaser, but I suppose it did give me a good laugh.
brainster Nov 08, 2005	good one! amazing how we so easily ignore the obvious sometimes!
peppamintp Nov 10, 2005	I am lost. I didn't get it. How are they both lying?
Justin__ Nov 14, 2005	then therefore the information we are given to solve the problem with is also a lie making it invalid?
mrbrainyboy Nov 18, 2005	dunno... maybe... wocka?
boodler Nov 24, 2005	If the question is correct then both must be lying; but they were probably both lying on principle
hidentreasure Nov 29, 2005	Huh?
Brainy_1 Dec 25, 2005	OK I am so lost..... Politicians lie anyway so.....? I'm still confused? I will leave now......
musicmaker21113 Jan 09, 2006	Then again, since they are being interviewed, and the press is so obviously liberal, then the statement that there was a democrat and a republican is also suspect. After all, wouldn't there have been at least two democrats in the room? There would have been a republican and a democrat, and the democrat interviewing them! Just kidding!
SPUTNIK2 Jan 25, 2006	I'm lost on this one
jessjspieks Jan 30, 2006	this makes no sense....whatever
paul726 Feb 21, 2006	Right musicman! Also, you automatically know that the democrat cannot be believed.
solarsistim321 Mar 07, 2006	If true, they would not be interviewed.
bookwyrm1216 Mar 09, 2006	lol, the narrator could be lying about there being one of each in the room
jj_is_cool Mar 29, 2006	or neither of them were lyingf, u just said "assume" assume dosent mean definetly.
tca2 May 03, 2006	I Don't get it..... So is the Man a democrat and the woman a republican? Or are they both democrats? Or are they both republicans? Or are they not even Politicians?
Smudge May 25, 2006	Theoretically, they could be reading scripts. I'm an 18-year-old male. But if i were reading a script aloud, which stated "my gender is not male", i wouldn't be lying. Similarly, ione is reading a script, then they would not be 'lying' per se.
Smudge May 25, 2006	Similary, if one*
banzai Jun 19, 2006	the riddle doesn't say one is lying, it wants us to assume one is lying. you have a 50/50 chance of being right or wrong depending on how you look at it. not my favorite riddle.
Therulerofthem Aug 09, 2006	I just assumed it was the woman JK, great teaser
bladd Oct 15, 2006	? This is more like a political joke.
ChristheGreat Nov 12, 2006	Looks like you beat Tennessee smarts, New York perserverance and Texas cunning. Yeah you got it right i've lived in 3 different states of the USA and i'm proud of it! Hee Hoo!
have_hope605 Nov 26, 2006	funny
calmsavior Feb 21, 2007	you guys don't get it, do you? If you assume that there is a Democrat and a Republican, and they claim to be a Democrat and a Republican, then they are both telling the truth. But you also must assume that one of them is lying. Therefore, one is lying about their political affiliation, and the other one has to be to maintain the balance.
bgil7604 Feb 28, 2007	If you're going to have a teaser, at least make the answer fun and interesting There's nothing as dull as, "They're both lying!"
brudork Mar 10, 2007	Heard it b4 but still a good puzzle
slicktrumpet Apr 02, 2007	That was rather pointless...
HarryPutter Apr 19, 2007	i told myself the answer
Grant-the-Wise Dec 06, 2007	This was alright, although I think it would be more appropriate in the trick section.
Jgomez7830 Oct 31, 2010	Good job!
Thekid4 Aug 24, 2011	this teaser is not about them being politicians! It doesn't even have to be with a democrat and republican. It could just as well be with a cat and a beaver! the point is that we know that there is one of both, so both must be lying, otherwise there would be no Democrat or no Republican. We know that there is one of both, therefore they must both be lying!
Joose Nov 04, 2012	Meh.