Like many of you, I was surprised to learn that President Trump's disastrous press conference in Helsinki earlier this week was all a misunderstanding! It turns out that the President left out one, single (albeit crucial) word: "not." What a close call!
Actually, it turns out that this happens all the time. Many famous lines—from politics, film and literature—are, in fact, misquotes. Here are just a few examples. Hopefully this will begin to set the record straight.
Just a few examples of things that have been mis-uttered, misstated, misheard, and/or mis-reported…
Richard Nixon: “Actually, I am a crook”
Darth Vader: “Luke, I am not your father.”
George Washington: “I lied.”
Bill Clinton: “I did have sexual relations with that woman …”
Molly Bloom: “…no I said no I won’t no.”
The Terminator: “I’m afraid this is goodbye. I don’t expect I’ll be back.”
Travis Bickle: "Oh! I thought you were looking at me. My bad!"
Louis XIV: “L’etat? Ce n’est pas moi!”
Lady Macbeth: “Spotless!”
Bob Dylan: “The more things change, the more they stay the same.”
Karl Marx: “Workers of the world ... It is what it is!”
Franz Kafka: “As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams he was relieved to find that it was no more than an uneasy dream! Today would be a day like any other.”
Inigo Montoya: “My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. But that was a long time ago. We’re good!”
Joan Crawford: “I prefer wire hangers.”
Cuba Gooding Jr: “It’s not about the money.”
Roberto Duran II: “Más!”
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Rhett Butler: “Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn about anything but your needs, hopes and dreams - however narcissistic they be!"
Shoeless Joe Jackson: “If you build it, will they come? I’m going to be frank. There is no way people are going to come to the middle of f-cking Iowa just to see a baseball field.”
Greta Garbo: “I could use some company.”
Mick Jagger: "I am fully satisfied."
George W. Bush: "I'm The Decider… Not! Cheney is The Decider!”
Dorothy Gale: "Toto -- it turns out we're still in Kansas."
M.C. Hammer: “If you want to touch it, that’s fine.”
Oliver Twist: “Sir, I am totally full!”
Lloyd Benson: “You remind me of Jack Kennedy.”
Neil Armstrong: “One small step for a man. And one giant scam perpetrated on Mankind. (I’m actually in Nevada!!!)”
Ronald Reagan: “Among the 16 scariest words in the English Language: ‘I've been recommended by the Federalist Society and I'll be the next US Supreme Court Justice.’"
Donald Trump: “I’m the least racist person anyone is ever going to meet.” (No correction here. He really said this -- more than once. We double checked.)
A few additional clarifications. It turns out that…
(1) Bob Marley did not shoot the sheriff.
(2) John F. Kennedy was/is not a “Berliner.”
(3) The British band Queen is not the “champions of the world.”
(4) Todd Rundgren is a workaholic – he has never “banged on the drum all day.”
(5) In a recent interview, Paul McCartney acknowledged that while love is very, very important, it is not all you need.
(6) Bill Clinton actually did not feel your pain.
