Maxine Waters Quotes

Some people see me as someone who makes other people look bad... I often get a feeling most people don't know who I am, or have a clue, and I live with that. I don't try to prove anything by talking.

- Maxine Waters

We have a responsibility as elected officials to do good public policy in the best interest of all the people.

- Maxine Waters

That's what mayors do. They lobby Congress to provide resources for their city.

- Maxine Waters

I don't have them down here asking me what my urban agenda is. I don't find them really doing in-depth stories on community-based organizations that have been struggling for a long time and who are out trying to get funds. They aren't interested in those stories.

- Maxine Waters

I am one who believes in the power of the people. I am inspired when I see people hit the streets, who challenge their elected officials, and are willing to stand up and fight. I encourage it.

- Maxine Waters

Why is it that Michael Flynn, who evidently has a great relationship with Putin, who has received payments for so-called speeches and who's spent a lot of time in Russia and was accused of talking about sanctions, he lied about it, and he got caught?

- Maxine Waters

I don't have any presidential aspirations. If the millennials want me to do it, I'd do it, though.

- Maxine Waters

We do not have a crisis at Freddie Mac, and particularly Fannie Mae, under the outstanding leadership of Frank Raines.

- Maxine Waters

I'm accustomed to being harassed.

- Maxine Waters

When I first experienced the millennial response to me, I had come out of a classified briefing, and I told the group of media individuals who were there that I didn't think James Comey had any credibility, and I threw up my hands and walked away - that went viral.

- Maxine Waters

I'd like to say to women everywhere: don't allow these right-wing talking heads, these dishonorable people, to intimidate you or scare you.

- Maxine Waters

I have been working hard trying to implement Dodd-Frank reforms. We went through a terrible crisis in 2008. Many people lost their homes.

- Maxine Waters

Guess what this liberal would be all about? This liberal would be about socializing.

- Maxine Waters

I could not remove myself from this debate about Trump. I could not abide his indecency. I could not live with the way he treated other people.

- Maxine Waters

This country cannot tolerate the fact that someone worked with Russia to undermine our democracy.

- Maxine Waters

Donald Trump has defined himself very well, not only in the primary election where he was absolutely disrespectful to his colleagues on the Republican side of the aisle and for Fiorina, who he basically said, 'Who would vote for you? Look at her face.'

- Maxine Waters

This nation has always struggled with how it was going to deal with poor people and people of color. Every few years you will see some great change in the way that they approach this. We've had the war on poverty that never really got into waging a real war on poverty.

- Maxine Waters

I am going to help show the American people that they too cannot trust him, that this is a man that does not live up to his promises, and this is a man who cheated students in the so-called Trump University.

- Maxine Waters

The constant drip drop of fraudulent activities coming out of Wells Fargo is absolutely outrageous.

- Maxine Waters

This is a tough game. You can't be intimidated. You can't be frightened. And as far as I'm concerned, the Tea Party can go straight to hell.

- Maxine Waters

The women's movement was just coming into being, and I got involved with Gloria Steinem and Bella Abzug and all these great women. We then got involved with Carter, who was running for president, and we created the first International Women's Conference or the National Women's Conference for Carter.

- Maxine Waters

I saw the real difference between politicians who supported programs like Head Start and those who didn't. I started getting really excited about politics.

- Maxine Waters

Reaching out to other people is important work. I am so pleased and honored that I'm getting the attention from the young people on social media. It's been missing.

- Maxine Waters

Priebus has been trying to clean up for Donald Trump for far too long. When he was making outrageous statements, when he was basically lying.

- Maxine Waters

It's unusual for elected officials to step outside of the box.

- Maxine Waters

There's a history of enslaved African-Americans having to make their slave masters comfortable. This business of what we call skinning and grinning - that is something African-Americans are very much cognizant of.

- Maxine Waters

We use language that has been designed to keep order, and to keep people in line.

- Maxine Waters

I don't think it works to just be mad at them - Maxine Waters out ranting and kicking down the doors. It would be so easy to dismiss you and marginalize you.

- Maxine Waters

Women are prepared to run for office. They're prepared to show up. Oh yeah, women have big roles to play, and they have stepped up to the plate already.

- Maxine Waters

We have suffered discrimination. We have suffered isolation and undermining. But we stand up for America, oftentimes when others who think they are more patriotic, who say they are more patriotic, do not.

- Maxine Waters

I have been adopted by the millennials, and I'm enjoying every minute of it! I'm learning a new language.

- Maxine Waters

I think that people should do what their heart and soul tells them to do.

- Maxine Waters

I had to ask my grandchildren, 'What does it mean? I threw shade?'

- Maxine Waters

How does he support Clinton's urban agenda? He doesn't know what it is.

- Maxine Waters

I have been an organizer and then activist and a legislator, all of that. But then there's this big gap after I advanced in Congress and ended up as the ranking member of financial services committee. It took me into the financial services issues and Wall Street and Dodd Frank. And it took me away from the things that I did years ago.

- Maxine Waters

I want to be the kind of elected official who not only pays attention but who acts on behalf of people - just average people. Fancy lobbyists get to tell their story, but the average person doesn't.

- Maxine Waters

I think Hillary and Bill are really liberals at heart. I think that, in addition to being liberals, they are very practical. They have made some decisions about what it takes to win.

- Maxine Waters

I was working at the telephone company in the late '80s as a service representative.

- Maxine Waters

I am talking about strategies that were developed, working with the Trump campaign. I really do believe that much of what you saw coming out of Trump's mouth was a play from Putin's playbook.

- Maxine Waters

I've seen a lot of poverty - coming up as a young child, lost hopes and dreams and people that never had a chance to have a decent quality of life. I believe we can do a lot greater than that.

- Maxine Waters

I believe that Trump is a danger. I believe that he wants to tighten and build up his relationship to Russia for whatever reasons.

- Maxine Waters

That's why investigations are so important, to drill down and to connect those dots and to get the facts. What we have is a lot of smoke that causes us to want to know more about what has happened.

- Maxine Waters

Some people see me as a rabble-rouser. Some people see me as someone who does not care about what other people think about me.

- Maxine Waters

I know some people like to follow the tradition, and that's who they are. That's not me.

- Maxine Waters

A lot of young people don't have a lot of faith in politicians. You can't depend on what they say. They talk in circles. They don't speak the kind of language that has truth to them. I'm speaking differently.

- Maxine Waters

I'm so proud of this connection that I've made with these young people.

- Maxine Waters

Ben Carson was appointed to be the HUD secretary. He knows nothing about the mission of HUD. He doesn't care about people in public housing. He believes that if you are poor, it is your own fault. And he doesn't know the difference between an immigrant and a slave.

- Maxine Waters

I have a right to my anger, and I don't want anybody telling me I shouldn't be, that it's not nice to be, and that something's wrong with me because I get angry.

- Maxine Waters

As you know in this committee, we have all of HUD, and HUD is responsible for so many programs that determine the quality of life for women and families.

- Maxine Waters

If China is not going to solve North Korea, we will.

- Maxine Waters

We know that when a woman speaks truth to power, there will be attempts to put her down... I'm not going to go anywhere.

- Maxine Waters

Policy, for the most part, has been made by white people in America, not by people of color.

- Maxine Waters

I cannot be thought to be afraid of Bill O'Reilly or anybody.

- Maxine Waters

Everyone has a part to play. We have the power. You can do it.

- Maxine Waters

I'm not running for anything but my own seat.

- Maxine Waters

I'm a strong black woman, and I cannot be intimidated. I cannot be undermined.

- Maxine Waters

We moan and groan all the time about a lack of involvement of young people. But they have taught me a lot about what moves them.

- Maxine Waters

My Millennials, 'stay woke'.

- Maxine Waters

Be who you are, do what you do and let us get on with discussing the real issues of this country.

- Maxine Waters

I'm going to continue to speak my mind in the way that I do.

- Maxine Waters

If I never do anything else in this career as a member of Congress, I'm gonna make somebody pay for what they've done to my community and to my people!

- Maxine Waters

We should have hope because we've earned it. We've worked for it! It's ours.

- Maxine Waters

There are people who love and appreciate this country, but they don't talk about it that way. Now is the time to talk.

- Maxine Waters

Russia is not our friend.

- Maxine Waters

Most African-Americans really do believe that we are voting for our better interest in voting for Democrats.

- Maxine Waters

I think the Democrats' role is to be vocal.

- Maxine Waters

I want our millennials and our young people to do what they started out doing with meet-ups, to talk about what is going on, and spread the education.

- Maxine Waters

My spirit tells me I cannot be silent.

- Maxine Waters

It's very important that people who are feeling the need to do something... get activated.

- Maxine Waters