* “China’s economic ties to the North (Koreans) should be the leverage that forces change, not the reason it never comes.”–Victor Cha, director of Asian studies at Georgetown University.
* “Russo-phobic hysteria.”–Russian President Vladimir Putin’s take on America’s view of his government.
* “I feel like Woodward and Bernstein’s “All The President’s Men” may be due for a reprinting in the not-too-distant future.”–U.S. Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn.
* “The president has become a farce to be reckoned with.”–Graydon Carter, Vanity Fair.
* “America is living through a fractured fairy tale, in the grip of a lonely and uninformed mad king, an arrogant and naive princeling, a comely but complicit blond princess and a dyspeptic, dystopian troll under the bridge.”–Maureen Dowd, New York Times.
* “There is one page in the Trump White House crisis-management playbook. And that is simply to tweet or say something outrageous to distract from a scandal.”–Josh Earnest, former White House spokesman under President Obama.
* “(Big falsehoods) are like a neutron bomb. They just take over the discussion and obliterate a lot of other things that we should be discussing.”–PolitiFact creator Bill Adair.
* “This is an historic restoration of American economic independence.”–EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt, on the withdrawal of the U.S. from the landmark Paris climate agreement.
* “I was elected to represent the citizens of Pittsburgh, not Paris.”–President Donald Trump.
* “It’s a disappointing and embarrassing day.”–Former Obama Administration EPA Director Gina McCarthy.
* “Even in the absence of American leadership, even as this Administration joins a small handful of nations that reject the future, I’m confident that our states, cities, and businesses will step up and do even more to lead the way and help protect for future generations the one planet we’ve got.”–Former President Barack Obama.
* “This decision can’t and won’t stop all those of us who feel obliged to protect the planet.”–German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
* “#Make Our Planet Great Again.”–French President Emmanuel Macron.
* “I’m not going down that path.”–Florida House Speaker Richard Corcoran’s response to a direct media question asking if he believed that human activity contributes to climate change.
* “With 40 percent of Florida’s population at risk from sea-level rise, my state is on the front lines of climate change.”–Florida Congressman Carlos Curbelo.
* “Most Republicans still do not regard climate change as a hoax. But the entire climate-change debate has now been caught up in the broader polarization of American politics.”–Republican strategist Whit Ayres.
* “Meals on Wheels, even for some of us who are considered to be fiscal hawks, may be a bridge too far.”–Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., the chairman of the House Freedom Caucus, on President Trump’s budget, which proposes deep cuts to programs for the poor, including Meals on Wheels, which delivers food to older people.
* “The president keeps saying the tax bill is moving through Congress. It doesn’t exist.”–House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.
* “The Russia investigation takes a lot of oxygen, it takes a lot of attention.”–U.S. Rep. Tom Cole, R-Ok.
* “(Trump’s) antitrade agenda is bad for growth, and he’s missing in action on controlling spending.”–Dan Mitchell, senior fellow at the libertarian Cato Institute.
* “Republicans need a fresh formula that can both win elections and govern. Mr. Trump’s populist nationalism certainly isn’t the answer.”–Will Wilkinson, vice president for policy at the Niskanen Center.
* “When the Trump experiment is finally over, hopefully there will be some of us around to pick up the pieces.”–Former Florida Republican Congressman David Jolly.
* “This is an atypical year. Our headquarters’ phone hasn’t stopped ringing, and the number one question we’re asked is ‘What are we going to do about Vern Buchanan’s seat?'”–Manatee Democratic Chairman Cheryl Wilson.
* “The press corps has really been decimated in the last several years. There’s a lot of things that we’d have never gotten away with back in the ’90s that people get away with now.”–State Sen. Jack Latvala, R-Clearwater.
* “Allowing Americans to travel to whatever country they want is not a concession.”–Al Fox, founder of the Alliance for Responsible Cuba Policy Foundation.
* “It’s on time, on budget and on schedule.”–Edmund Funai, USF Health’s COO, on how plans are proceeding for the construction of the new medical school facility in downtown Tampa.
* “(Principals) want people in front of students who are in the same diversity of their student population.”–Pinellas County Schools Superintendent Mike Grego, on the need to recruit more black teachers.