This all strikes me as very Life-of-Brian-ish: > "I'm not the messiah!" > "Only the true messiah would deny his divinity." > "Well what chance does that give

This all strikes me as very Life-of-Brian-ish: > "I'm not the messiah!" > "Only the true messiah would deny his divinity." > "Well what chance does that give me?! Alright, I am the messiah!" If the CEO says layoffs are coming, people freak out. So the CEO says no layoffs are coming, so we immediately assume that layoffs are coming.