Dwight D. Eisenhower Quotes

It is sometimes necessary to lie damnably in the interest of the country.

Lies are dangerous but sometimes necessary when a country is in danger.

I would dodge, not lie, in the national interest.

People never lie so much as after a hunt, during a war or before an election.

In Washington the politicians lie on the record and tell the truth off the record. In the Middle East, it’s the opposite. They lie off the record, and tell the truth on the record.

Truth telling is not compatible with the defence of the realm.

Diplomacy: The patriotic art of lying for one's country.

Tell the truth or trump-but get the trick.

American traditions and the American ethic require us to be truthful, but the most important reason is that truth is the best propaganda and lies are the worst. To be persuasive we must be believable; to be believable we must be credible; to be credible we must be truthful. It is as simple as that.

For me, the facts in anything are always secondary. You don't lie convincingly with the truth. You lie convincingly with being a good liar.

Little white lies are part of everyday life. If you're in court being charged with a felony, you're probably going to be tempted to lie. Or if your girlfriend asks you if the sweater she is wearing makes her look fat; you're going to lie because you love that person. There are different reasons and justifications to lie; it's human nature.

It's okay to lie as long as you reach a higher truth doing it.

White lies always introduce others of a darker complexion.

Lying can never save us from another lie.

The rulers of the state are the only persons who ought to have the privilege of lying, either at home or abroad; they may be allowed to lie for the good of the state.

My dad once told me, he was like, 'The only time you should lie is when someone's holding a gun to your head and says 'Okay, lie or I'm going to shoot you.' And that really stuck with me.

We tell lies, yet it is easy to show that lying is immoral.

Guard against the impostures of pretended patriotism.

There are things a man must not do to save a nation.

To be persuasive we must be believable. To be believable, we must be truthful.

Only lie about the future.

When a majority could benefit only its enemies by telling the truth, history shows that honorable men often preferred to tell what is untrue.

Even for a President who is not a professional actor, misrepresentation is a part of the job. Commentators who do not bear this in mind are like critics in the audience shouting, “Tell us what you really think” at an actor who is trying to bring off his drama.

When you're on the side of the angels, it's easier to stretch the truth.

I have discovered the art of deceiving diplomats. I speak the truth, and they never believe me.