Top 300 Richard M. Nixon Quotes (2024 Update)
Page 3 of 7

101. “It is in that spirit, the spirit of ’76, that I ask you to rise and join me in a toast to Chairman Mao, to Premier Chou, to the people of our two countries, and to the hope of our children that peace and harmony can be the legacy of our generation to theirs.”

— Richard M. Nixon

102. “God, of course, is the greatest philosopher of all.”

— Richard M. Nixon

103. “It is essential that we take steps to prevent chemical substances from becoming environmental hazards. Unless we develop better methods to assure adequate testing of chemicals, we will be inviting the environmental crisis of the future.”

— Richard M. Nixon

104. “Law enforcement officers should use only the minimum force necessary in dealing with disorders when they arise. A human life-the life of a student, soldier, or police officer-is a precious thing, and the taking of a life can be justified only as a necessary and last resort.”

— Richard M. Nixon

105. “Communism starts with the proposition that there are no universal truths or general truths of human nature.”

— Richard M. Nixon

106. “Millions who endure poverty and bad government can now know what they are missing. To see how the other half lives all they have to do is switch on their television sets.”

— Richard M. Nixon

107. “Italy hasn’t had a government since Mussolini.”

— Richard M. Nixon

108. “Economic power is not the same as strength of national character. Our country may be rich in goods, but we are poor in spirit.”

— Richard M. Nixon

109. “Don’t try to take on a new personality; it doesn’t work.”

— Richard M. Nixon

110. “When I grow up, I want to be an honest lawyer so things like that can’t happen.”

— Richard M. Nixon

111. “Honesty may not be the best policy, but it is worth trying once in a while.”

— Richard M. Nixon

112. “The Pakistanis are straightforward and sometimes extremely stupid. The Indians are more devious, sometimes so smart that we fall for their line.”

— Richard M. Nixon

113. “A riot is a spontaneous outburst. A war is subject to advance planning.”

— Richard M. Nixon

114. “We seek friendly relations with all nations. Any nation can be our friend without being any other nation’s enemy.”

— Richard M. Nixon

115. “The ability to be cool, confident, and decisive in crisis is not an inherited characteristic but is the direct result of how well the individual has prepared himself for the battle.”

— Richard M. Nixon

116. “Let us begin by committing ourselves to the truth to see it like it is, and tell it like it is, to find the truth, to speak the truth, and to live the truth.”

— Richard M. Nixon

117. “I’m not a crook. I’ve earned everything I’ve got.”

— Richard M. Nixon

118. “I was not lying. I said things that later on seemed to be untrue.”

— Richard M. Nixon

119. “I see the face of a child. He lives in a great city. He is black. Or he is white. He is Mexican, Italian, Polish. None of that matters. What matters, he’s an American child.”

— Richard M. Nixon

120. “The ultimate test of a nation’s character is not how it responds to adversity in war but how it meets the challenge of peace.”

— Richard M. Nixon

121. “Peace is the real and right memorial for those who have died in war.”

— Richard M. Nixon

122. “My concern today is not with the length of a person’s hair but with his conduct.”

— Richard M. Nixon

123. “Anybody who wants to be an ambassador, wants to pay at least $250,000.”

— Richard M. Nixon

124. “Because of the realities of human nature, perfect peace is achieved in two places only: in the grave and at the typewriter.”

— Richard M. Nixon

125. “I let the American people down, and I have to carry that burden for the rest of my life. My political life is over. I will never again have an opportunity to serve in any official position. Maybe I can give a little advice from time to time.”

— Richard M. Nixon

126. “America will not tolerate being pushed around by anybody, anyplace.”

— Richard M. Nixon

127. “The man of thought who will not act is ineffective; the man of action who will not think is dangerous.”

— Richard M. Nixon

128. “I never say something I cannot do. And I always will do more than I can say.”

— Richard M. Nixon

129. “I hereby resign this office of president of the United States.”

— Richard M. Nixon

130. “Nobody is a friend of ours. Let’s face it.”

— Richard M. Nixon

131. “Peace demands more, not less, from a people. Peace lacks the clarity of purpose and the cadence of war. War is scripted: peace is improvisation.”

— Richard M. Nixon

132. “Certainly in the next 50 years we shall see a woman president, perhaps sooner than you think. A woman can and should be able to do any political job that a man can do.”

— Richard M. Nixon

133. “We must always remember that America is a great nation today not because of what government did for people but because of what people did for themselves and for one another.”

— Richard M. Nixon

134. “When I am the candidate, I run the campaign.”

— Richard M. Nixon

135. “Where the hell is Chad?”

— Richard M. Nixon

136. “If you are ever going to lie, you go to jail for the lie rather than the crime. So believe me, don’t ever lie.”

— Richard M. Nixon

137. “We are all in it together. This is a war. We take a few shots and it will be over. We will give them a few shots and it will be over.”

— Richard M. Nixon

138. “Defeat doesn’t finish a man – quit does.”

— Richard M. Nixon

139. “Voters quickly forget what a man says.”

— Richard M. Nixon

140. “The average American is just like the child in the family.”

— Richard M. Nixon

141. “Tonight – to you, the great silent majority of my fellow Americans – I ask for your support.”

— Richard M. Nixon

142. “But more than anything else, we have learned that legal assistance for the poor, when properly provided, is one of the most constructive ways to help them help themselves.”

— Richard M. Nixon

143. “Government can provide opportunity. But opportunity means nothing unless people are prepared to seize it.”

— Richard M. Nixon

144. “Your mind must always go, even while you’re shaking hands and going through all the maneuvers. I developed the ability long ago to do one thing while thinking about another.”

— Richard M. Nixon

145. “If I had feelings, I probably wouldn’t have even survived.”

— Richard M. Nixon

146. “History will treat me fairly. Historians probably won’t, because most historians are on the left.”

— Richard M. Nixon

147. “You won’t have Nixon to kick around anymore, because, gentlemen, this is my last press conference.”

— Richard M. Nixon

148. “We shall continue, in this era of negotiation, to work for the limitation of nuclear arms and to reduce the danger of confrontation between the great powers.”

— Richard M. Nixon

149. “In the television age, the key distinction is between the candidate who can speak poetry and the one who can only speak prose.”

— Richard M. Nixon

150. “We don’t owe the blacks a damn thing, anyway.”

— Richard M. Nixon