Helen Thomas citations (20 citations)

“This is the worst president ever. He is the worst president in all of American history.”

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Helen Thomas

About George W. Bush, said in Los Angeles while at a Society for Professional Journalism banquet event.
Published in an article by John Bogert in the Torrance, California Daily Breeze (19 January 2003).
According to Thomas this was supposed to be off the record. The reporter (assumedly Bogert) asked for her autograph after she spoke at the event. As she signed his copy of her book, he said to her, "You look sad?" She responded by saying "Well I am. I'm covering the worst president..."
Interview by Adam Holdorf for Real Change News, (18 March 2004).

“At the earlier briefing, Ari, you said that the President deplored the taking of innocent lives. Does that apply to all innocent lives in the world? And I have a follow-up… My follow-up is, why does he want to drop bombs on innocent Iraqis? …”

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Helen Thomas

White House briefing, 2003-01-06.

“If we could get them back to the '67 borders it certainly would be a triumph, but they're not about to move anywhere. They keep taking and keep bulldozing homes on the West Bank. They have Jewish-only roads. They would never tolerate that here…My view is that you should not create another nation in somebody else's country, and the Palestinians were 85 percent in the majority, until they began the immigration for the Jews and for the Zionists because they had designated Jerusalem as their home, that God gave it to them. Well, I mean, that's what God? Who? And so forth. Everything like that is just very debatable. Jews have been persecuted all over the world. There's no question about that. Certainly the Nazis. I mean, it's too horrifying to think of what they did and the silence in the world when it was happening. At the same time, they aren't the only ones who fought in World War II. I had my brothers, two brothers, were there. All my relatives. Every American was involved. So it isn't a question of the Holocaust was a simple thing going on. The Russians lost 25 million people.”

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Helen Thomas

Helen Thomas on Her Resignation and Middle East
Paul Jay
The Real News Network
2010-11-15
http://therealnews.com/t2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=74&jumival=5765
2013-13-20

“; David Nesenoff”

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Helen Thomas

“The White House used to belong to the American people. At least that's what I learned from history books and from covering every president starting with John F. Kennedy. But now the 201-year-old Executive Mansion belongs only to a select, elitist group of people, including top government officials, members of Congress and the press corps. They and some others, all of whom are screened in advance, are welcome. But most people are not — not anymore.”

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Helen Thomas

Hearst newspaper column, (28 November 2001).

“Get into the game!”

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Helen Thomas

Advice to up-and-coming journalists, quoted from " Calling Helen Thomas http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/200602/calling.helen.thomas.htm" in Saudi Aramco World (Vol. 57, No. 2) March/April 2006

“I don't speechify. I know the shortest distance between two points is a straight line. And that's what I ask. But they get mad at the straight line. I just want to ask a tough question.”

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Helen Thomas

Interview by Adam Holdorf for Real Change News, (18 March 2004).

“Every President hates the Press. Every president thinks that all information that comes to the White House is their private preserve after they all promise an open administration on the campaign trail, but some are even more secretive than others. Some want to lock down everything.”

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Helen Thomas

Phone interview on The Majority Report, 2004-04-02

“I deeply regret my comments I made last week regarding the Israelis and the Palestinians. They do not reflect my heart-felt belief that peace will come to the Middle East only when all parties recognize the need for mutual respect and tolerance. May that day come soon.”

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Helen Thomas

2010-06-04
Veteran White House Reporter Helen Thomas Retires After Israel Remarks
Democracy Now
Pacifica Radio
2010-06-08
http://www.democracynow.org/2010/6/8/veteran_white_house_reporter_helen_thomas
2010-11-03

“You don't spread democracy through the barrel of a gun.”

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Helen Thomas

As quoted in The Daily Show, (27 June 2006).

“Both Blair and Bush have been found lacking in their credibility. Usually by this time a government would have fallen. I covered two presidents, LBJ and Nixon, who could no longer convince, persuade, or govern, once people had decided they had no credibility, but we seem to be more tolerant now of what I think we should not tolerate.”

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Helen Thomas

Phone interview on The Majority Report, 2004-04-02

“I'm a liberal, I was born a liberal, and I will be a liberal till the day I die.”

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Helen Thomas

Thomas's views unsettled W.H. press http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0610/38236.html#ixzz0qJTX4XSu (2006)

“Well it wasn't a formal hanging. It was kind of subtle. I had covered him … his first press conference. He dropped down into the press room and started taking questions and everyone asked about the tax cut and I sort of — Ari Fleischer later told me I blindsided him because I said to him, "Mister President, why don't you respect the wall of separation between church and state?" Well, there's a video of him that is so funny. He jerked back as if he had been hit! I mean both barrels! And he said, "I do respect—" I said, "Well if you did, why would you have a religious office in the White House?" (I'm exaggerating, but anyway) and "you're a secular official." And he said "I am secular." Well, anyway, I got a call from Ari after that. After that there was a formal news conference and I did ask him a Middle East question and it wasn't the question per se. They just don't like my boorishness.”

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Helen Thomas

Phone interview on The Majority Report, 2004-04-02

“We've got to break through the wall of secrecy. It's America's fate.”

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Helen Thomas

Phone interview on The Majority Report, 2004-04-02

“We were never hyphenated as Arab-Americans. We were American, and I have always rejected the hyphen and I believe all assimilated immigrants should not be designated ethnically. Or separated, of course, by race, or creed either. These are trends that ever try to divide us as a people.”

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Helen Thomas

As quoted in America: what my country means to me by 150 Americans from all walks of life http://books.google.com/?id=h4qpzo7yNxEC&pg=PA238&dq=tripoli+%22helen+thomas%22&q=tripoli%20%22helen%20thomas%22My (2002), Simon & Schuster, p. 238.

“I can call a president of the United States anything in the book but I can't touch Israel, which has Jewish-only roads in the West Bank. No American would tolerate that -- white-only roads… We are owned by the propagandists against the Arabs. We are owned by propagandists against the Arabs. There's no question about that. Congress, the White House, and Hollywood, Wall Street, are owned by the Zionists. No question in my opinion. They put their money where their mouth is…We're being pushed into a wrong direction in every way.”

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Helen Thomas

Defiant Helen Thomas defends remarks that led to exit
Niraj Warikoo
Free Press
2010-12-02
http://www.freep.com/article/20101202/NEWS02/101202052/Defiant-Helen-Thomas-defends-remarks-that-led-to-exit
2010-12-02