Who said “If anyone is crazy enough to want to kill a president of the United States, he can do…”?

Disputed

It's credited to John F. Kennedy, but no reliable source from their lifetime has been found.

What the research foundNo reliable early source found for John F. Kennedy.

Evidence: Wikiquote · How we check

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Authors A–Z
“If anyone is crazy enough to want to kill a president of the United States, he can do it. All he must be prepared to do is give his life for the president s.”
— John F. Kennedy
DisputedNo reliable early source found for John F. Kennedy. · evidenceSacrifice

Cite this quote

APA

“If anyone is crazy enough to want to kill a president of the United States, he can do it. All he must be prepared to do is give his life for the president s.” [Quotation attributed to John F. Kennedy]. (n.d.). Famous Quotations Network. Retrieved October 24, 2026, from https://www.famous-quotations.com/quotes/36447-if-anyone-is-crazy-enough-to-want-to/

MLA

“If anyone is crazy enough to want to kill a president of the United States, he can do it. All he must be prepared to do is give his life for the president s.” Attributed to John F. Kennedy. Famous Quotations Network, https://www.famous-quotations.com/quotes/36447-if-anyone-is-crazy-enough-to-want-to/. Accessed 24 Oct. 2026.

Chicago

“If anyone is crazy enough to want to kill a president of the United States, he can do it. All he must be prepared to do is give his life for the president s.” Attributed to John F. Kennedy. Famous Quotations Network. Accessed October 24, 2026. https://www.famous-quotations.com/quotes/36447-if-anyone-is-crazy-enough-to-want-to/.

Related quotes

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— Paul Klee
VerifiedDiary entry (December 1904), # 583, in The Diaries of Paul Klee, 1898-1918; University of California Press, 1968 · evidenceDetails & citeSacrifice
“The remarkable thing is that we really love our neighbor as ourselves: we do unto others as we do unto ourselves. We hate others when we hate ourselves. We are tolerant toward others when we tolerate ourselves. We forgive others when we forgive ourselves. We are prone to sacrifice others when we are ready to sacrifice ourselves.”
— Eric Hoffer
VerifiedThe Passionate State Of Mind, and Other Aphorisms (1955) · evidenceDetails & citeSacrifice

More quotes by John F. Kennedy

“The margin is narrow, but the responsibility is clear.”
VerifiedJohn F. Kennedy, press conference (November 10, 1963). Transcript, The New York Times (November 11, 1963), p. 20. In Theodore Sorensen's Kennedy (1965), these words are followed by "There may be difficulties with the Congress, but a margin of only one vote would still be a mandate" (p. 219). · evidenceDetails & citeVoting
All 98 John F. Kennedy quotes →