Top 140 Rick Perry Quotes (2025 Update)

1. “Every life is precious.”

— Rick Perry

2. “Above all, let us pray for our children.”

— Rick Perry

3. “Religious freedom does not mean freedom from religion.”

— Rick Perry

4. “Guns require a finger to pull the trigger.”

— Rick Perry

5. “What I learned growing up on the farm was a way of life that was centered on hard work, and on faith and on thrift. Those values have stuck with me my whole life.”

— Rick Perry

6. “I’ve always believed the mission is greater than the man.”

— Rick Perry

7. “Dark economic clouds are dissipating into an emerging blue sky of opportunity.”

— Rick Perry

8. “The God we serve does not seek out the perfect, but instead uses our imperfections and our shortcomings for his greater good. I am humbled by my own limitations. But where I am weak, He is strong.”

— Rick Perry

9. “The most important thing for us is to save lives.”

— Rick Perry

10. “The air we breathe, the water we drink, and the land we inhabit are not only critical elements in the quality of life we enjoy – they are a reflection of the majesty of our Creator.”

— Rick Perry

11. “Aggies have a really interesting way of admitting defeat. We’ve never been outscored. We just ran out of time.”

— Rick Perry

12. “There’s places where a secure fence will work, and that strategic type fencing will work. But the idea that people can easily just stand up and say ‘let’s just build a fence’ and be done with it and wipe our hands, and it’s going to secure the border, that’s not reality.”

— Rick Perry

13. “According to a study by Achieve Incorporated, Texas is the first state to make a college-prep curriculum the standard coursework in high school, starting with this year’s ninth grade class.”

— Rick Perry

14. “Crucial to understanding federalism in modern day America is the concept of mobility, or ‘the ability to vote with your feet.’ If you don’t support the death penalty and citizens packing a pistol – don’t come to Texas. If you don’t like medicinal marijuana and gay marriage, don’t move to California.”

— Rick Perry

15. “I grew up in a house with no running water, 16 miles from the closest place that had a post office. I had a very parochial view of the world.”

— Rick Perry

16. “It takes balls to execute an innocent man.”

— Rick Perry

17. “The great lesson of history for us is that strength and resolve bring peace and order, and weakness and vacillation invite chaos and conflict.”

— Rick Perry

18. “The foundation for future prosperity is built on the bedrock of good jobs and great schools. We are building a strong foundation one job at a time and one educated Texan at a time.”

— Rick Perry

19. “Who knew, when you were watching the Verizon ad and the guy said, ‘Can you hear me now,’ that was really just a mic check for the Obama administration.”

— Rick Perry

20. “Our citizens are tired of big government raising their taxes and cooking up new ways to micromanage their lives, our citizens are tired of big government killing jobs with their do-gooder policies. In short the people are Fed Up!”

— Rick Perry

21. “I believe in America. I believe in her purpose and her promise. I believe her best days have not yet been lived. I believe her greatest deeds are reserved for the generations to come.”

— Rick Perry

22. “I’m not ashamed to be a Christian. But you don’t have to be in the pew every Sunday to know that there’s something wrong in this country when gays can serve openly in the military but our kids can’t openly celebrate Christmas or pray in school.”

— Rick Perry

23. “We don’t have to apologize for American exceptionalism or western values.”

— Rick Perry

24. “America’s greatness is not found in the size of its government. America’s greatness resides in the hearts and the minds of the people.”

— Rick Perry

25. “I don’t believe man-made global warming is settled in science enough.”

— Rick Perry

26. “It is time to let America be America again. To return freedom to the people. To stand on our founding principles and reject the cynical politics of the Nanny State.”

— Rick Perry

27. “Four semesters of organic chemistry made a pilot out of me.”

— Rick Perry

28. “Page one of any economic plan to get America working is to give a pink slip to the current resident in the White House.”

— Rick Perry

29. “I stand before you today as a disciplined conservative Texan, a committed Republican and a proud American, united with you to restoring our nation and revive the American dream.”

— Rick Perry

30. “Government that is open and honest will always be able to withstand the light of day.”

— Rick Perry

31. “There is evil prowling in the world – it shows up in our movies, video games and online fascinations, and finds its way into vulnerable hearts and minds.”

— Rick Perry

32. “We must do right and risk the consequences.”

— Rick Perry

33. “When the good lord calls you home, the government ought not come get your home.”

— Rick Perry

34. “I’m actually for gun control – use both hands.”

— Rick Perry

35. “But if you say that we should not educate children who have come into our state for no other reason than they’ve been brought there by no fault of their own, I don’t think you have a heart. We need to be educating these children, because they will become a drag on our society.”

— Rick Perry

36. “I see a nation filled with good, hardworking people who are wondering what happened to the country they knew. It wasn’t long ago that we were expected to pay our bills, we were able to pray at the town meeting, and we believed it was important to rely on ourselves or our families rather than government.”

— Rick Perry

37. “We’ve got the wind at our back right now. Americans are waking up to the realities of their previous choices. We must keep America moving back to preeminence because our values and conservative ideas are the world’s greatest hope.”

— Rick Perry

38. “Obamacare has got everyone on edge. I mean, small business – men and women or big business are sitting out there saying we have no idea what this is going to cost, but we know it’s going to cost us and cost us a lot.”

— Rick Perry

39. “When I make a vow to God, then I would suggest to you that’s even stronger than a handshake in Texas.”

— Rick Perry

40. “Americans want government that is leaner, more efficient, and less intrusive into their personal lives.”

— Rick Perry

41. “Audie Murphy remains a shining example for anyone who believes in the importance of service, for generations now and into the future.”

— Rick Perry

42. “That the Texas Legislature, that the Texas school boards, the Texas teachers, we collectively know best how to educate our children, rather than some bureaucrat in Washington.”

— Rick Perry

43. “Washington’s insatiable desire to spend our children’s inheritance on failed stimulus plans and other misguided economic theories have given record debt and left us with far too many unemployed.”

— Rick Perry

44. “America needs jobs, smaller government, less spending and a president with the courage to offer more than yet another speech.”

— Rick Perry

45. “Mexico is an important trading partner, it’s the number one trading partner for the state of Texas. We have had dealings with them, shared a border with them. We have had our challenges, but at the end of the day we want a good relationship with Mexico.”

— Rick Perry

46. “Our goal is to displace the entrenched powers in Washington, restore the rightful balance between the state and federal government.”

— Rick Perry

47. “I didn’t say I was running, did I?”

— Rick Perry

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48. “Democracy functions best when we have an active citizenry.”

— Rick Perry

49. “You can always follow me on Tweeter.”

— Rick Perry

50. “I don’t want to look like Connecticut, no offense, I don’t want to look like Oklahoma, I don’t want to look like California. I want to be uniquely Texas. And that’s not to diss anybody else.”

— Rick Perry