* “Today, Iran–prouder than ever–is ready to promote its relations with the world based on mutual respect and national interests.”–Recently re-elected Iranian President Hassan Rouhani.
* “We are going to give renegotiation a good, strong shot.”–U.S. Trade Rep. Robert Lighthizer, on what the Trump Administration intends to do on NAFTA.
* “I accept this responsibility and will discharge it to the best of my ability.”–Former FBI Director Robert Mueller, who was appointed special counsel to lead an investigation into possible Russia-Trump campaign connections.
* “This is the single greatest witch hunt of a politician in American history!”–President Donald Trump.
* “You can’t be the quarterback of the team if the rest of the team is not in the huddle.”–Former Republican House Speaker Newt Gingrich.
* “The country is now caught in the internal maelstrom that is the mind of Donald Trump. We are in the realm of the id. Chaos reigns. No guardrails can hold.”–Charles Krauthammer, Washington Post.
* “(Trump) reacts rather than reflects, and damn the consequences. This is what makes his access to the nuclear codes so dangerous and frightening.”–Tony Schwartz, ghostwriter of “The Art of the Deal.”
* “A man with a deformed personality and a defective intellect runs a dysfunctional administration.”–Bret Stephens, New York Times.
* “The Comey fiasco will be remembered as a case study in misjudging a situation, mismanaging the easily foreseeable fallout and achieving the exact opposite of one’s aims. If this is private-sector savvy, give me a bloated government bureaucracy any day.”–Frank Bruni, New York Times.
* “(The White House) has got to do something soon to bring itself under control and order. … Obviously they’re in a downward spiral right now.”–Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
* “It is absurd to think the president can solve his problems by firing his staff. They are not the problem. He is the problem. They’re not the A-Team, they’re not the counselors you’d want, experienced and wise. They’re the island of misfit toys.”–Peggy Noonan, Wall Street Journal.
* “Mr. Trump took the lid off the Pandora’s box of anti-democratic forces that had been seething for decades.”–Lee Siegel, author of “The Draw: A Memoir.”
* “The guy who promised to ‘drain the swamp’ is snorkeling in it.”–Leonard Pitts, Miami Herald.
* “When I ran for office, I said (Trump) is a chaos candidate and would be a chaos president.”–Jeb Bush.
* “If it’s true that he wouldn’t be president if it weren’t for Twitter, then, yeah, I’m sorry.”–Twitter co-founder Evan Williams.
* “I say to all my colleagues in the Senate, ‘History is watching.'”–Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-NY.
* “To work for Trump requires one to think up justifications that defy common sense and ignore reality.”–Jennifer Rubin, Washington Post.
* “I’ll let history be the judge. But I’m proud of this. I think it’s an important moment not just for the city of New Orleans but for the country.”–New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu, after the last of four monuments to Confederate-era figures were removed.
* “Everybody moving to Florida is using less energy.”–Duke Energy Florida President Harry Sideris.
* “These kinds of declines are difficult to come by, especially when you look at what happened to the labor force.”–UCF economist Sean Snaith, noting that Florida’s unemployment fell from 4.8 percent in March to 4.5 percent in April–even as the labor force grew.
* “There was no fear in the consequences. How much legislative turnover is there each election cycle? Almost none.”–Gary Mormino, USF history professor.
* “As the gateway to the west coast of Florida, it’s essential that the airport grow at a pace consistent with Tampa Bay, one of the fastest growing metropolitan areas in the country.”–TIA CEO Joe Lopano.
* “There is no question we are absolutely strongly considering Tampa in the mix. The city can house a world-class event. It’s proving it time after time after time.”–Steve Mayer, executive vice president of the NHL, on chances that Tampa will be selected to host the 2018 NHL All-Star Game.
* “It would be nice to get it resolved.”–Tampa City Attorney Sal Territo, reacting to news that the Florida Supreme Court has accepted a case to decide the legality of red-light cameras.
* “It’s more about appreciating art than art appreciating in value.”–How Jeff Vinik assesses the art experience. He and his wife Penny are bringing a free Lego exhibition, “The Art of the Brick,” to Tampa this summer to boost public art.