I fail to see how meeting someone in person is a requirement to form an opinion on them based on their public actions. Claiming that it is, though, sure sounds

I fail to see how meeting someone in person is a requirement to form an opinion on them based on their public actions. Claiming that it is, though, sure sounds like a common dismissive tactic in politics, and especially when defending people who otherwise commit undesirable, even detestable public actions ("but he's a great guy, he'd never hurt anyone" etc).