“[I]n the words of Chairman Mao, 'It's darkest before it's totally black.”

— John McCain

In response to a reporter's question, "Which is more likely: making progress in Iraq or you winning the nomination?" (July 2007) <br class="br">2000s, 2007 <br class="br">Source: Liasson, Mara. McCain Nearly Broke But Stays Course http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=12000037. National Public Radio. July 7, 2007.

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 3, 2021. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "[I]n the words of Chairman Mao, 'It's darkest before it's totally black." by John McCain?

John McCain169

politician from the United States 1936–2018

Related quotes

“I am reminded of the words of Chairman Mao: It's always darkest before it goes completely black.”

John McCain (1936–2018) politician from the United States

As quoted in "McCain Wraps It Up" https://www.cbsnews.com/news/mccain-wraps-it-up/ (5 March 2008), by Andante Higgins, CBS News <br class="br">2000s

“It's always darkest before it's totally black.”

Mao Zedong (1893–1976) Chairman of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China

This is a humorous misattribution that US Senator John McCain has sometimes used since at least January 2000, but there is no indication that Mao actually ever made such a comment, which is a joke referencing the common English proverb "It's always darkest before the dawn." It has also been humorously misattributed to Franklin D. Roosevelt. The quote may be derived from the US television show The A-Team, in which it was uttered in a 1983 episode ("The Rabbit Who Ate Las Vegas") by protagonist John "Hannibal" Smith. A similar quotation is attributed to actor Paul Newman in 2003.
Misattributed

“Chairman Mao was the first in the world to use Twitter. All his quotations are within 140 words.”

Ai Weiwei (1957) Chinese concept artist

2000-09, The Bold and the Beautiful, 2009

“One thing that Chairman Mao did was to end the appalling foot binding of women. That alone justifies the Mao Tse-tung era.”

Ken Livingstone (1945) Mayor of London between 2000 and 2008

As quoted in "Now Livingstone is standing up for Mao's mass murder" by Jane Merrick in Daily Mail (19 May 2006), p. 48.

“I am an ordinary Communist, a little pupil of Chairman Mao, and a little pupil of the broad masses. I have to learn from my dear comrades.”

Jiang Qing (1914–1991) Chinese political figure and wife of Mao Zedong

Source: Speech at the Reception for the Representatives of the Beijing Workers Propaganda Team and the People's Liberation Army Propaganda Team (14 September 1968)

“Interrogated by a student whether he agreed with Chairman Mao’s view that a statement can be both true and false at the same time, Morgenbesser replied “Well, I do and I don’t.””

Sidney Morgenbesser (1921–2004) American philosopher

The Independent, The Independent, Professor Sidney Morgenbesser: Philosopher celebrated for his withering New York Jewish humour http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/professor-sidney-morgenbesser-550224.html, 6 August 2004. Obituaries – Sidney Morgenbesser, 82, Kibitzing Philosopher, Dies http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/04/obituaries/04morgenbesser.html. The New York Times (September 8, 2004).

“[Fox News has] taken reasonable concerns about this president and this economy and turned it into a full-fledged panic about the next coming of Chairman Mao.”

Jon Stewart (1962) American political satirist, writer, television host, actor, media critic and stand-up comedian

Stewart on The O'Reilly Factor ( Partial transcript http://crooksandliars.com/david-neiwert/what-bill-oreilly-edited-out-his-int) <br class="br">The Bill O'Reilly Factor Appearance (2010)