Harry Truman

US President, atomic bomb decision

Modern influential 194 sayings

Sayings by Harry Truman

Never kick a fresh turd on a hot day.

Unknown — General advice/saying
Humorous Unverifiable

You want a friend in this city? [Washington, DC.] Get a dog!

Unknown — Referring to Washington D.C. politics
Humorous Unverifiable

Richard Nixon is a no good, lying bastard. He can lie out of both sides of his mouth at the same time, and if he ever caught himself telling the truth, he'd lie just to keep his hand in.

Early 1960s — Referring to Richard Nixon
Humorous Unverifiable

I fired MacArthur because he wouldn't respect the authority of the president. I didn't fire him because he was a dumb son of a bitch, although he was.

Unknown (post-1951) — Explaining the firing of General Douglas MacArthur
Humorous Confirmed

Suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a Republican. But I repeat myself.

Unknown — Political commentary
Humorous Unverifiable

Any man who has had the job I've had and didn't have a sense of humor wouldn't still be here.

Unknown — Reflecting on the presidency
Humorous Unverifiable

I had flat eyeballs as a boy, and couldn't see well enough to play ball with the other kids. So they made me the umpire.

Unknown — Recalling childhood
Humorous Unverifiable

Always be sincere, even if you don't mean it.

Unknown — General advice/saying
Humorous Confirmed

Now. listen I ate your bouquet i drank your dishwater. but damn if I'm going to eat that bug.

Approx. 1964-1965 — Recounting a humorous story about a man refusing to eat lobster in New York City
Humorous Unverifiable

I do not believe in shooting anything that cannot shoot back.

Unknown — General statement
Humorous Unverifiable

My favorite animal is the mule. He has more sense than a horse. He knows when to stop eating — and when to stop working.

Unknown — General statement
Humorous Unverifiable

They are trying to make an elder statesmen of me, but they will never succeed.

Unknown — Responding to a student's question about becoming mellowed
Humorous Unverifiable

A politician is a man who understands government, and it takes a politician to run a government. A statesman is a politician who's been dead 10 or 15 years.

1958 — Speech in 1958
Controversial Unverifiable

The atom bomb was no 'great decision.' It was merely another powerful weapon in the arsenal of righteousness.

1959 — Defending the Hiroshima/Nagasaki bombings
Controversial Unverifiable

It is a terrible thing for a man to get a reputation for being a storyteller. When you tell a story, they don't believe you.

1954 — Speech in Independence, Missouri
Humorous Unverifiable

Being a President is like riding a tiger. A man has to keep on riding or be swallowed.

1950s — Attributed, often cited in discussions of the presidency
Humorous Unverifiable

You know, it's easy to be a Monday morning quarterback. It's a lot harder to be a Saturday afternoon quarterback.

1950s — Attributed, often used in political commentary
Humorous Unverifiable

I don't give a damn what the papers say. I'm going to do what I think is right.

1940s-1950s — Attributed, reflecting his independent nature
Humorous Unverifiable

A politician is a man who understands government, and who is interested in the welfare of the people of the country.

1950s — Attributed, a more idealistic definition from him
Humorous Unverifiable

The greatest part of all the Presidential troubles are the people who claim that they are the President's friends.

1945 — Letter to his mother
Humorous Unverifiable