Mayberry Machiavelli

noun

A person who furthers a cause by "reducing every issue to its simplest, black-and-white terms for public consumption", i.e., denying nuance by presenting stark but fallacious alternatives.

“That Mayberry Machiavelli thinks that anybody who didn't support the Iraq war is a Saddam Hussein supporter.”

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Meanings

nounMayberry Machiavelli (plural Mayberry Machiavellis)

plural Mayberry Machiavellis

  1. derogatoryA person who furthers a cause by "reducing every issue to its simplest, black-and-white terms for public consumption", i.e., denying nuance by presenting stark but fallacious alternatives.

    That Mayberry Machiavelli thinks that anybody who didn't support the Iraq war is a Saddam Hussein supporter.

Origin

Coined by John J. DiIulio, Jr., who ran President George W. Bush's Faith-based Initiative. See Machiavelli. Mayberry was the name of a small rural town in The Andy Griffith Show and Mayberry R.F.D., US TV shows that ran from 1960 to 1971.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

Mayberry Machiavelli. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Mayberry%20Machiavelli

MLA

“Mayberry Machiavelli.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Mayberry%20Machiavelli. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Mayberry Machiavelli,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Mayberry%20Machiavelli.

Source: Mayberry Machiavelli on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.