Did Ronald Reagan say: “There are more important things”?

Some attribute to the 40th US President the words that for the sake of achieving really important goals, one can also turn to military methods. We checked the correctness of such an attribution.

Often, the phrase that “there are more important things are more important” is mentioned by publicists of the right. For example, her attributes The Reigan Observer of the Tsargrad portal Yegor Kholmogorov, calling the quote “A phrase that the Cold War was won,” because “there was no more important world in the official ideology of the Soviet political leadership of things.” Sometimes these words can be found in the statements different large Media.

During the presidency of Ronald Reagan (1981–1989), many important events in relations with the Soviet Union. On the one hand, the American leader He called it USSR Empire Evil and formulated the so -called Doctrine Reagan - A concept aimed at supporting anti -communist movements around the world. On the other hand, he spent the whole A series of meetings with Mikhail Gorbachev, who contributed to the normalization of relations between countries, as well as signed With the USSR, an agreement on the liquidation of missiles of medium and lower range.

At the same time, attributing the phrase about “things more important than the world” to Reagan is unreasonable. It is absent in the speeches, texts and personal documents of the American leader collected on site Reagan Presidential Library - the most complete collection of materials about him. We were not able to find confirmation in other authoritative sources.

Nevertheless, this expression really appeared in the United States about 40 years ago. At the beginning of its first presidential term Reagan Offered to the post of US Secretary of State Alexander Haig. A candidate for this post is necessary approve With the Senate, for which special hearings are held in the upper house of the American parliament, during which senators can ask questions of interest to them. In the case of Hyig, such discussions Passed For several days in January 1981. Remembering a dispute with Senator Gleborne Palle regarding the foreign policy of the previous administration, Hayig said: “You said:“ But we live in the world! ” And I will answer you, the senator: "There are worse things, there are more important things!"

Note that Heig is one of a few militarywho led the US State Department (this is an analogue of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Russia and other countries). The veteran of the wars in Korea and Vietnam and the Commander of the Union forces in Europe nevertheless did not succeed in this civil position-due to disagreements with other members of the administrations and failures in resolving a number of international disputes, Hayig left his post a year and a half after his appointment.

Incorrect attribution of quote

What do our verdicts mean?

Read on the topic:

1. Ronald Reagan Presidential Library & Museum
2. Is it true that, having met for the first time with Gorbachev, Reagan, in his own statement, thought: “He will sell us everything”?
3. Is it true that the United States awarded Mikhail Gorbachev with the medal "For Victory in the Cold War"?
4. Is there a phrase of assistant Woodlo Wilson about the division of Russia into several states?