Celebrities Harry S. Truman, Birthday: 8 May 1884, Lamar, Missouri, USA

[on father/mother] Since a child at my mother's knee, I have believed in honor, ethics, and right li...Show more »

[on father/mother] Since a child at my mother's knee, I have believed in honor, ethics, and right living for its own reward. Show less «

[on Douglas MacArthur] I didn't fire him because he was a dumb son-of-a-bitch, although he was, but ...Show more »

[on Douglas MacArthur] 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. Show less «

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

A president cannot always be popular.

I don't want this office, this responsibility, any longer, even if you want me. Find the strongest a...Show more »

I don't want this office, this responsibility, any longer, even if you want me. Find the strongest and most able and God bless you. Good-bye. Show less «

[on unexpectedly becoming President in 1945] I felt like the moon, the stars and all the planets had...Show more »

[on unexpectedly becoming President in 1945] I felt like the moon, the stars and all the planets had fallen on me. Show less «

[to a friend, the day after FDR died] I'm not big enough. I'm not big enough for this job.

[his journal entry after visiting Berlin shortly after VE Day.] Never have I seen such a sorrowful s...Show more »

[his journal entry after visiting Berlin shortly after VE Day.] Never have I seen such a sorrowful sight. I hope for a swift end to this war but I fear that the machines are ahead of morals by some centuries. Show less «

My choices in life were either to be a piano player in a whore house or a politician. And to tell th...Show more »

My choices in life were either to be a piano player in a whore house or a politician. And to tell the truth, there's hardly any difference. Show less «

It's interesting that a single thing, that great smile of Eisenhower's, gave him the worldwide and l...Show more »

It's interesting that a single thing, that great smile of Eisenhower's, gave him the worldwide and lifelong reputation of being a sunny and amiable man., when most of us who knew him well were all too aware that he was essentially a surly, angry and disagreeable man. Show less «

Whenever a fellow tells me he's bipartisan. I know he's going to vote against me.

[on criticism] He who cannot stand the heat should stay out of the kitchen.

[on in-coming President Eisenhower] This fellow don't know any more about politics than a pig knows ...Show more »

[on in-coming President Eisenhower] This fellow don't know any more about politics than a pig knows about Sunday. Show less «

Most Presidents don't seem to want to talk to former presidents. And from my experience, I know that...Show more »

Most Presidents don't seem to want to talk to former presidents. And from my experience, I know that's pretty natural behavior. A new president wants to be president on his own hook, and not have a former president around, trying to give him advice. But the really terrible thing is when a president sets out to actively discredit the politics of a former president. And that's what happened when I was succeeded by Dwight Eisenhower. Show less «

I'm proud that I'm a politician. A politician is a man who understands government, and it takes a po...Show more »

I'm proud that I'm a politician. 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 ten or fifteen years. Show less «

[jokingly to Eisenhower who had asked before they toured the White House whether he should sign the ...Show more »

[jokingly to Eisenhower who had asked before they toured the White House whether he should sign the guestbook] Definitely. Then if anything is missing we'll know who to blame. Show less «

[on James Stewart] If Bess and I had a son, we'd want him to be just like Jimmy Stewart.

I never did give anybody hell. I just told the truth, and they thought it was hell.

Richard Nixon is a no-good lying bastard. He can lie out of both sides of his mouth at the same time...Show more »

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. Show less «

Harry S. Truman

Harry S. Truman's FILMOGRAPHY

Feedback about this page?