* “American leadership in the world is in our interests, but it’s in yours too. ‘America First’ does not mean ‘America Alone.'”–Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, in his address to a meeting of U.S. governors in Washington.
* “We must include in the (Middle East) diplomatic initiative, since without Iran no regional solution can be achieved. In strained and dangerous moments, it is essential to talk to your enemy. As the adage goes, ‘Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.'”–Thomas Pickering, former ambassador to the UN, Russia and Israel and former undersecretary of state for political affairs during the Clinton Administration.
* “Through today’s actions we are putting companies and countries across the world on notice that this administration views compliance with U.S. and U.N. sanctions as a national security imperative. Those who trade with North Korea do so at their own peril.”–Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.
* “The biggest threat to the integrity of our democracy today is in the Oval Office.”–Thomas Friedman, New York Times.
* “It is time for the secretary of defense, the secretary of state and the national security adviser to confront Mr. Trump, collectively and directly, to inform him that unless he publicly affirms the reality of the Russian threat and authorizes the strongest possible response to it, they will have no honorable alternative to resignation. They swore an oath of loyalty to the Constitution, not to Mr. Trump.”–William Galston, Wall Street Journal.
* “I’m not in any way justifying what the Russians did in 2016. It was completely wrong of Vladimir Putin to intervene in this way. That said, the methods they used in this election were the digital version of methods used both by the United States and Russia for decades: breaking into party headquarters, recruiting secretaries, placing informants in a party, giving information or disinformation to newspapers.”–Dov H. Levin, post doctoral fellow in the Institute for Politics and Strategy at Carnegie-Mellon University.
* “The one thing we all agree on: Our social fabric is torn. … Civility is not a sign of weakness, but of civilization.”–Nicholas Kristof, New York Times.
* “It used to be friendly-adversarial. There would be retaliation for stories they didn’t like, but nothing compared with this. … This president hates us. He’s warring on us. Once we lose ground on something, it’s hard to get it back.”–April Ryan, White House correspondent and Washington bureau chief for American Urban Radio.
* “I’m not always with the president on what he might say or do, and if that happens, I’ll call them like I see them, the way I have in the past.”–Utah Senate candidate Mitt Romney.
* “The idea that the president’s son would be going and shilling the president’s brand at the same time Donald Trump is president and is managing strategic and foreign relations with India–that is just bizarre.”–Daniel S. Markey, senior research professor at Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies and former Southeast Asia expert in the State Department during the George W. Bush Administration, on the timing of the promotional visit of Donald Trump Jr. to India–the Trump Organization’s biggest international market.
* “The odds are that we will lose seats in the House and the Senate. History tell you that; the fired-up nature of the political left tells you that. We go into this clear-eyed that this is going to be quite a challenging election.”–Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.
* “Florida has gone the wrong way since Sandy Hook for sensible laws.”–Avery W. Gardiner, president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence.
* “I do not understand how I can go into a store and buy a weapon of war.”–Parkland High School student Sam Zeif, during President Trump’s “listening session” at the White House.
* “If it were my daughter, I would want to personally kill my client, make no mistake about it. … It’s awful to be involved representing anybody when the community hates and hurts so much because of that person.”–Howard Finkelstein, Broward County’s public defender, whose office is representing Nikolas Cruz.
* “Even if all potential mass shooters did get psychiatric care, there is no reliable cure for angry young men who harbor violent fantasies. Instead of hoping that imposing mental health treatment on everyone who shows ‘red flags’ will put an end to mass shootings, we should focus on ways to put some distance between these young men and their guns.”–Amy Barnhorst, vice chairwoman of community psychiatry at the University of California, Davis.
* “Most people who are mentally ill are not dangerous, and most dangerous people are not mentally ill.”–Arthur Lurigio, professor of psychology and criminology at Loyola University Chicago.
* “America is in the throes of great disruptions and anxieties, as we sort out our values and our future. But it doesn’t take any soul searching to know this: Treating children as collateral damage is intolerable.”–Maureen Dowd, New York Times.
* “Evil walks among us and God help us if we don’t harden our schools and protect our kids.”–Wayne LaPierre, executive vice president and CEO of the NRA.
* “Many in legacy media love mass shootings. Now I’m not saying that you love the tragedy, but I am saying that you love the ratings. Crying white mothers are ratings gold.”–NRA spokeswoman Dana Loesch.
* “It’s really not the (direct candidate) contributions. It’s the ability of the NRA to tell its members: ‘Here’s whose good on the Second Amendment.'”–Cleta Miller, former NRA board member.
* “(Teachers) do not want to be armed with guns, no. They want to be armed with the tools to do their jobs.”–Luke Flynt, secretary-treasurer of the Florida Education Association.
* Everybody is on heightened alert right now. If you say something or post something stupid, you might end up going to jail for it.”–Tampa Police Chief Brian Dugan.
* “The purpose (of startups) should never be, this is how I’m going to make a lot of money. The purpose should be, this is how I’m going to show my talents and help change the world and make something different.”–Steve Wozniak, the inventor of the Apple personal computer, during his appearance at the USF Lecture Series.