88 Presidential Power Quotes
Following is our list of presidential power quotations and slogans full of insightful wisdom and perspective about presidential leadership.
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Famous Presidential Power Quotes
In the scheme of our national government, the presidency is preeminently the people's office. — Grover Cleveland
When you see how the President makes political or policy decisions, you see who he is. The essence of the Presidency is decision-making. — Bob Woodward
These last few years we've seen an unacceptable abuse of power, having a president whose priority is expanding his own power. — Trey Gowdy
The American President resembles the commander of a ship at sea. He must have a helm to grasp, a course to steer, a port to seek. — Henry Adams
The president can't change the country on his own. But what can he do? He can give an example. — Volodymyr Zelenskyy
The president is the country's scapegoat more than the country's leader; the president has as much power as we think the president has. Whoever has the most money is the puppet master. — Eric Andre
The President seems to extend executive privilege way out past the atmosphere. What he says is executive privilege is nothing but executive poppycock. — Sam Ervin
Does he [the president] possess the power of making war? That power is exclusively vested in Congress. . . . It is the exclusive province of Congress to change a state of peace into a state of war. — William Paterson
If the president alone was vested with the power of appointing all officers, and was left to select a council for himself, he would be liable to be deceived by flatterers and pretenders to patriotism. — Roger Sherman
Headmasters have powers at their disposal with which Prime ministers have never yet been invested. — Winston Churchill
The office of president is a bastardized thing, half royalty and half democracy, that nobody knows whether to genuflect or spit. — Jimmy Breslin
The executive branch of this government never has, nor will suffer, while I preside, any improper conduct of its officers to escape with impunity. — George Washington
A President needs political understanding to run the government, but he may be elected without it. — Harry S Truman
A President needs political understanding to run the government, but he may be elected without it. — Harry S. Truman
All the president is, is a glorified public relations man who spends his time flattering, kissing, and kicking people to get them to do what they are supposed to do anyway. — Harry S. Truman
Short Presidential Power Quotes
- When the President does it, that means that it's not illegal. — Richard M. Nixon
- The President is the CEO of this business that we call America. — Bill Ackman
- Presidents don't get vacations - they just get a change of scenery. The job goes with you. — Nancy Reagan
- The government has the right to change laws and rules and regulations. — Jamie Dimon
Executive Power Quotes
Democracy is necessarily despotism, as it establishes an executive power contrary to the general will; all being able to decide against one whose opinion may differ, the will of all is therefore not that of all: which is contradictory and opposite to liberty. — Immanuel Kant
Knowledge isn't power; it's potential power. Execution trumps knowledge any day of the week. — Tony Robbins
When the legislative and executive powers are united in the same person, or in the same body of magistrates, there can be no liberty; because apprehensions may arise, lest the same monarch or senate should enact tyrannical laws, to execute them in a tyrannical manner. — Montesquieu
When the legislative and executive powers are united in the same person, or in the same body of magistrates, there can be no liberty; because apprehensions may arise, lest the same monarch or senate should enact tyrannical laws, to execute them in a tyrannical manner. — Baron de Montesquieu
Such as it is, the press has become the greatest power within the Western World, more powerful than the legislature, the executive and judiciary. One would like to ask; by whom has it been elected and to whom is it responsible? — Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
It's a horrible idea that God, this paragon of wisdom and knowledge, power, couldn't think of a better way to forgive us our sins than to come down to Earth in his alter ego as his son and have himself hideously tortured and executed so that he could forgive himself. — Richard Dawkins
Lions don't have to roar. There is power in silence, confidence, and persistence. Those who work don't talk, and those who talk don't work. Handle your business. Measure your efforts by results. Focus your time, energy, and activity on mastering and executing a plan. — Les Brown
A really efficient totalitarian state would be one in which the all-powerful executive of political bosses and their army of managers control a population of slaves who do not have to be coerced, because they love their servitude. — Aldous Huxley
The contest for ages has been to rescue liberty from the grasp of executive power. — Daniel Webster
Where is the justice of political power if it executes the murderer and jails the plunderer, and then itself marches upon neighboring lands, killing thousands and pillaging the very hills? — Kahlil Gibran
Presidential Leadership Quotes
The only thing we have to fear is fear itself-and possibly teh bogey man. — Pat Paulsen
We are the ones we've been waiting for. — June Jordan
When we get a chance to take part in elections, I am ready to fight for leading positions, including in the presidential vote. — Alexei Navalny
It would be judicious to act with magnanimity towards a prostrate foe. — Millard Fillmore
You can't fool all of the people all of the time. But it isn't necessary. — Will Rogers
Action will delineate and define you. — Thomas Jefferson
A good leader can't get too far ahead of his followers. — Franklin D. Roosevelt
In the '90s, there was scant presidential leadership and insufficient domestic political mobilization for foreign policy grounded in human rights. — Samantha Power
Presidential leadership needn't always cost money. Look for low- and no-cost options. They can be surprisingly effective. — Donald Rumsfeld
Lately even the harshest critics of President Bush have been forced to admit maybe he's right about freedom's march around the globe. What if we are watching an example of presidential leadership that will be taught in American schools for generations to come? It's an idea gaining more currency. — Brian Williams
Judicial Power Quotes
[T]he opinion which gives to the judges the right to decide what laws are constitutional and what not, not only for themselves, in their, own sphere of action, but for the Legislature and Executive also in their spheres, would make the Judiciary a despotic branch. — Thomas Jefferson
All respect for the office of the presidency aside, I assumed that the obvious and unadulterated decline of freedom and constitutional sovereignty, not to mention the efforts to curb the power of judicial review, spoke for itself. — Ruth Bader Ginsburg
If [the legislature] will positively enact a thing to be done, the judges are not at liberty to reject it, for that were to set the judicial power above that of the legislature, which would be subversive of all government. — William Blackstone
The executive shall never exercise the legislative and judicial powers, or either of them, to the end that it may be a government of laws and not of men. — John Adams
Wise men wrote the Constitution, but clever judges have been destroying it, bit by bit, turning it into an instrument of arbitrary judicial power, instead of a limitation on all government power. — Thomas Sowell
Maintaining checks and balances on the power of the Judiciary Branch and the other two branches is vital to keep the form of government set up by our Founding Fathers. — Todd Tiahrt
Now that judges embrace forcibly starving someone to death, Congress should use its appropriation power to starve the judicial budget. — Phyllis Schlafly
Narrow scope of judicial power was the reason that people accepted the idea that the federal courts could have the power of judicial review; that is, the ability to decide whether a challenged law comports with the Constitution. — Sam Brownback
As an exercise of raw judicial power, the Court perhaps has authority to do what it does today; but, in my view, its judgment is an improvident and extravagant exercise of the power of judicial review that the Constitution extends to this Court. — Byron White
If there are such things as political axioms, the propriety of the judicial power of a government being co-extensive with its legislative, may be ranked among the number. — Alexander Hamilton
People Writing About Presidential Power
| Name | Quotes | Likes |
|---|---|---|
 Harry S. Truman |
373 | 6925 |
 Grover Cleveland |
82 | 997 |
 Bob Woodward |
81 | 808 |
 Trey Gowdy |
33 | 276 |
 Henry Adams |
218 | 1269 |
 Volodymyr Zelenskyy |
82 | 1 |
More Presidential Power Quotes
We admit of no government by divine right, believing that so far as power is concerned the Beneficent Creator has made no distinction amongst men; that all are upon an equality, and that the only legitimate right to govern is an express grant of power from the governed. — William Henry Harrison
Congress has not unlimited powers to provide for the general welfare, but only those specifically enumerated. — Thomas Jefferson
It is increasingly clear that no matter what party is in power, so long as our national security needs keep rising, an economy hampered by restrictive tax rates will never produce enough jobs or enough profits. — John F. Kennedy
Anyone who has taken the oath I have just taken must feel a heavy weight of responsibility. If not, he has no conception of the powers and duties of the office. — William Howard Taft
Liberty in the United States will never be reestablished so long as elites and masses alike look to the president to perform supernatural feats and therefore tolerate a virtually unlimited exercise of presidential power. Until we can restore limited, constitutional government in this country, God save us from great presidents. — Robert Higgs
Not a season passes without new disclosures showing Nixon's numerous attempts at criminal use of his presidential powers and in fact the scorn he held for the rule of law. — Bob Woodward
Of all presidential perks, the pardon power has a special significance. It is just the kind of authority that would attract the special attention of someone obsessed with himself and his own ability to influence events. — Barbara Olson
That is enough to win a three-way presidential race. If young people understand they have the numbers and they have the power to come out and turn this election on its head. — Jill Stein
Presidential power is the power to persuade. — Richard Neustadt
Vice President Dick Cheney reportedly has been disturbed over what he sees as the erosion of presidential powers since the Watergate scandal and has urged Bush to take a stronger stand against what Cheney sees as congressional intrusions into the executive branch. — Helen Thomas
It is weakness rather than wickedness which renders men unfit to be trusted with unlimited power. — John Adams
A good character carries with it the highest power of causing a thing to be believed. — Aristotle
...the exchange of students...should be vastly expanded...Information and education are powerful forces in support of peace. Just as war begins in the minds of men, so does peace. — Dwight D. Eisenhower
The intoxication of power rapidly sobers off in the knowledge of its restrictions and under the prompt reminder of an ever-present and not always considerate press, as well as the kindly suggestions that not infrequently come from Congress. — William Howard Taft
Presidential power was overruled by the high bench in July 1974, when President Nixon was ordered to turn over some audio tapes of his White House conversations, including the 'smoking gun' tape of June 23, 1972, that revealing the Watergate cover up. — Helen Thomas
All power in human hands is liable to be abused. — James Madison
You convey too great a compliment when you say that I have earned the right to the presidential nomination. No man can establish such an obligation upon any part of the American people. My country owes me no debt. It gave me, as it gives every boy and girl, a chance. It gave me schooling, independence of action, opportunity for service and honor. In no other land could a boy from a country village, without inheritance or influential friends, look forward with unbounded hope. My whole life has taught me what America means. I am indebted to my country beyond any human power to repay. — Herbert Hoover
It seems to me that if Mr. Obama wins the presidential election, then Messrs. Farrakhan, Wright, Ayers and Pfleger will gain power for their need to demoralize this country and help create a socialist America. — Jon Voight
I've spent quality time in the aerospace community, with my service on two presidential commissions, but at heart, I'm an academic. Being an academic means I don't wield power over person, place or thing. I don't command armies; I don't lead labor unions. All I have is the power of thought. — Neil deGrasse Tyson
When you have a president in his campaign who ran saying things that not are just contrary to a fact, but literally threatening to use presidential power in a way that would erode the rights and privileges and equality of large sections of Americans, God bless the protestors. — Cory Booker
People are really excited by Obama abroad because he seems to be the first American presidential candidate who has ambition to go out of the country. In a sense, with the power of globalization, you are kind of electing the leader of the Western world to an extent. — Irvine Welsh
Sarah Palin has managed to use her failed vice presidential run to put herself in a position of power and influence. Joe Biden won the race and he hasn't been able to put himself in a position of power and influence. — Craig Ferguson
Obama is a tyrant the same way FDR was a tyrant. He has a view of presidential power that states: the government is in control of the country, and the president is in charge of the government. He's taken an imperial view of the presidency. — David Mamet
What can Americans learn from the Olympics spectacle? According to the IMF, China will succeed America as the dominant economic power in the course of the next presidential term, so Howard Fineman, editorial director of the Huffington Post and MSNBC mainstay, was anxious to pick up tips. 'Brits long ago lost their empire,' he tweeted, 'but overall show us how to lose global power gracefully.' So there's that. — Mark Steyn
Public opinion: May it always perform one of its appropriate offices, by teaching the public functionaries of the State and of the Federal Government, that neither shall assume the exercise of powers entrusted by the Constitution to the other. — James K. Polk
Nowhere has the political power of coal been more obvious than in presidential campaigns. — Jeff Goodell
Libertarian presidential candidate André Marrou's idea is that "government power is opposed to individual liberty." Must we still debate such sophomoric notions?... Besides, liberty, although very important, is not the only value. — George Will
My relationship with God through Christ has given me meaning and direction. My faith has made a big difference in my personal life, and my public life as well. I make personal decisions every day. Some are easy, and some aren't so easy. I have worries just like you do. And I pray. I pray for guidance. I pray for patience. I firmly believe in the power of intercessory prayer; and I know that I could not do my job without it. — George W. Bush
We need to remember that the separation of church and state must never mean the separation of religious values from the lives of public servants. . . If we who serve free men today are to differ from the tyrants of this age, we must balance the powers in our hands with God in our hearts. — Lyndon B. Johnson
At this time, we should renew our faith in God. We celebrate the hour in which God came to man. It is fitting that we should turn to Him. . . But there are many others who are away from their homes and their loved ones on this day. Thousands of our boys are on the cold and dreary battlefield of Korea. But all of us, at home, at war, wherever we may be, are within reach of God's love and power. We can all pray. We should all pray. — Harry S. Truman
To all our means of culture is added the powerful incentive to personal ambition, no post of honor is so high but the poorest may hope to reach it. — James A. Garfield
When religion is good, it will take care of itself. When it is not able to take care of itself, and God does not see fit to take care of it, so that it has to appeal to the civil power for support, it is evidence to my mind that its cause is a bad one. — Benjamin Franklin
In my judgment it is the duty of Congress, while respecting to the uttermost the conscientious convictions and religious scruples of every citizen, to prohibit within its jurisdiction all criminal practices ... Nor can any ecclesiastical organization be safely permitted to usurp in the smallest degree the functions and powers of the National Government. — James A. Garfield
I think we're going to have to do better. Mr. Nixon talks about our being the strongest country in the world. I think we are today, but we were far stronger relative to the Communists 5 years ago. And what is of great concern is that the balance of power is in danger of moving with them. They made a breakthrough in missiles and by 1961, '2, and '3, they will be outnumbering us in missiles. — John F. Kennedy
We are not deceived by their pretenses to piety. We have seen their kind before. They are the heirs of all the murderous ideologies of the 20th century. By sacrificing human life to serve their radical visions - by abandoning every value except the will to power - they follow in the path of fascism, and Nazism, and totalitarianism. And they will follow that path all the way, to where it ends: in history's unmarked grave of discarded lies. — George W. Bush
You know what's really frightening? You (Jon Stewart) actually have an influence on this presidential election. That is scary, but it's true. You've got stoned slackers watching your dopey show every night and they can vote. — Bill O'Reilly
The lack of power to take joy in outdoor nature is as real a misfortune as the lack of power to take joy in books — Theodore Roosevelt
President Bush has asserted the right to wiretap and eavesdrop on any American without a warrant in the name of fighting terrorism. He has asserted presidential power beyond stated constitutional rights, and there is no Republican gutsy enough to call his hand. — Helen Thomas
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