When it comes to prominent Republican officials getting caught peddling fake historical quotes, Sen. Rand Paul tends to be in a league of his own. The Kentucky Republican has, after all, been caught pushing fake quotes from Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, Patrick Henry, Abraham Lincoln and George Washington.

Paul, however, is not without company. On the Fourth of July in 2023, for example, Sen. Josh Hawley promoted a fake quote from Patrick Henry. (When he got caught, the Missouri Republican boasted that the “the libs” were “major triggered” by his willingness to amplify misinformation.)

Last year, it happened again when House Speaker Mike Johnson, shortly before he was sworn in for the new Congress, shared a quote from Jefferson that’s popular in conservative circles but is entirely made up.

With a track record like this, it’s tempting to think officials would take better care to avoid similar mistakes. And yet, the hits just keep on coming. The Washington Post reported:

A giant banner bearing the face of Theodore Roosevelt decorates the facade of the Office of Personnel Management in downtown Washington and carries an inspirational quote it attributes to the late leader. There’s one problem: Historians say the 26th president never uttered the phrase.

“Courage is not having the strength to go on; it is going on when you don’t have the strength,” says the quote, which is overlaid in serif font under Roosevelt’s portrait and attributed to him.

It’s certainly a nice quote, but there’s just no evidence to suggest Roosevelt ever said it.

Michael Patrick Cullinane, co-director and public historian of the Theodore Roosevelt Center, told the Post, “What I can say for certain is that the quote did not originate with Theodore Roosevelt.”

A search of the database maintained by the Theodore Roosevelt Center, housed at North Dakota’s Dickinson State University, confirmed he simply never said this.

When the Post asked for comment from the Office of Personnel Management, a spokesperson didn’t defend the quote, saying instead it was “surprising” to learn of media interest in an OPM banner.

That missed the point: If Republican officials are going to try to rewrite history to suit their purposes, the least they can do is start quoting historical figures accurately.

This post updates our related earlier coverage.

The post Republicans’ reliance on fake historical quotes goes from bad to worse appeared first on MS NOW.

Author: Source Author

From MS Now.