Harry S. Truman Quotes

1884–1972 United States

Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884 – December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States (1945–53), an American politician of the Democratic Party.

United States
Anti-communists
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Politicians

Also known as: Harry R Truman, Harry S Truman, Harry Truman, Harry truman, Truman, Harry, Truman, Harry S

Random Harry S. Truman quote

89 quotes

Republicans approve of the American farmer, but they are willing to help him go broke.

Attributed

It isn't important who is ahead at one time or another in either an election or horse race. It's the horse that comes in first at the finish line that counts.

Attributed Bush's Brain: How Karl Rove Made George W. Bush Presidential (2003)

If you want a friend in Washington, get a dog.

Attributed

I sit here all day trying to persuade people to do the things they ought to have sense enough to do without my persuading them ... that's all the powers of the President amount to.

Attributed Richard Neustadt in Presidential Power: The Politics of Leadership (1964)

What do you mean "helped create"? I am Cyrus. I am Cyrus.

Attributed

It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit*

Misattributed

My forebears were Confederates... but my very stomach turned over when I had learned that Negro soldiers, just back from overseas, were being dumped out of Army trucks in Mississippi and beaten.

Attributed Harry S. Truman (1973)

I fired him because he wouldn't respect the authority of the president. That's the answer to that. I didn't fire him because he was a dumb son of a bitch, although he was, but that's not against the law for generals. If it was, half to three-quarters of them would be in jail.

Attributed

I am not sure it can ever be used... I don't think we ought to use this thing unless we absolutely have to. It is a terrible thing to order the use of something that is so terribly destructive, destructive beyond anything we have ever had. You have got to understand that this isn't a military weapon. It is used to wipe out women and children and unarmed people, and not for military uses. So we have got to treat this differently from rifles and cannon and ordinary things like that.

Attributed

Attribution

Quotes and notes from Wikiquote: Harry S. Truman (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0.