The Diplomat Quotes

Intelligence is a story. A story based on incomplete facts. Life or death decisions turn on whether people buy the story.[to Stuart]

Decisions don’t get to the desk of the president unless they’re 49-51. I spend my days splitting hairs, but that’s the job I raised my hand for.[to Rayburn, quoting Rayburn]

You seem to think that being Second Lady of the United States and Ambassador to the Court of St. James are two part-time jobs you can do and still watch Wimbledon at the end of the day. The only way you can do both of those jobs at the same time is to do them both poorly.[to Kate]

You know who you can’t fire? Cinderella.[to Stuart]

Talk to everyone. Fail, and fail again. And brush yourself off. And fail again. Because maybe… Maybe.

Look at every real option. If you have a good one on the table, you won’t choose the bad one.[to Trowbridge]

If you’re choosing to trust me, this is one of those moments.[to Austin Dennison]

I am a young, tiny Asian American woman at the top of one of the most baldly paternalistic arms of the US government. I am furious all the time. If I could go after terrorists and human traffickers with an organization that didn’t have an 80-year legacy of racism and human rights violations, I would. There is not another better CIA or America. The ones we have are f***ed-up. We make compromises. Some days, we feel okay about that. Some days, we have gin.[to Stuart]

Your kid falls down. He doesn’t cry. He doesn’t know he’s hurt. He looks at you. If you don’t blink, he gets up. He’s fine.

You know why I didn’t want this job? I spent a decade building a reputation in a community such that when I say something, people f***ing listen to me.[to Billie]

You can only pi** with the d*ck you’re given.

When the country is f***еd, the good people can’t walk away. That is not the time.[to Stuart]