--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I'm an American first, and I think that's…" description: "\"I'm an American first, and I think that's how most people are.\" — Ed Gillespie" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/20d/ed-gillespie-18531_firsts_i-m-an-american-first-and-i-think-that-s_2018398.jpg" --- # I'm an American first, and I think that's how most people… ![“I'm an American first, and I think that's how most people are.” quote by Ed Gillespie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/20d/ed-gillespie-18531_firsts_i-m-an-american-first-and-i-think-that-s_2018398.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/20d/ed-gillespie-18531_firsts_i-m-an-american-first-and-i-think-that-s_2018398.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/20d/ed-gillespie-18531_firsts_i-m-an-american-first-and-i-think-that-s_2018398.jpg) > “I'm an American first, and I think that's how most people are.” [Ed Gillespie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-gillespie/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. National identity often precedes other affiliations for many people. **In simple terms:** Being American is a primary identity. Key Takeaway Respect diverse identity hierarchies. Themes identity nationalism politics Mood thoughtful analytical Type political reflective When to use this quote - campaign strategy - public discourse - community outreach Key Concepts civic identity social belonging political affiliation Questions to Reflect On - How does national identity shape your values? - When does patriotism become exclusionary? A Different Perspective May overlook multicultural nuances. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [American](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american/) [American Think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american-think-824301/) [Firsts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/firsts/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think/) [Think People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think-people/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [I do feel very American. I think it's something I'm proud of and proud to be by chance born here. Honestly, that's something I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dakota-fanning/i-do-feel-very-american-i-think-it-s-something-i-m-proud-of-and-proud/) [Dakota Fanning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dakota-fanning/) > [The living arrangements American now think of as normal are bankrupting us economically, socially, ecologically and spiritually.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-howard-kunstler/the-living-arrangements-american-now-think-of-as-normal-are/) [James Howard Kunstler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-howard-kunstler/) > [Making sure that health care is affordable for every American. I think that is very, very important.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kendrick-meek/making-sure-that-health-care-is-affordable-for-every-american-i-think/) [Kendrick Meek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kendrick-meek/) > [“I can never be anything else but an American, and I must think of the United States first, and when I think of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-cabot-lodge/i-can-never-be-anything-else-but-an-american-and-i-must-think-of-the/) [Henry Cabot Lodge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-cabot-lodge/) > [Can we find nothing good to say about TV? Well, yes, it brings scattered solitaries into a sort of communion. TV allows your isolated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/can-we-find-nothing-good-to-say-about-tv-well-yes-it-brings-scattered/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [Every American, I think, should be able to fill out their taxes on a postcard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-cruz/every-american-i-think-should-be-able-to-fill-out-their-taxes-on-a/) [Ted Cruz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-cruz/) > [When you hear someone delivering a divisive message, that's endangering our country that you stay up and say, you know, as an American, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juan-williams/when-you-hear-someone-delivering-a-divisive-message-that-s/) [Juan Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juan-williams/) > [“When you think of love you think as an American. You must think like a Russian. It is a more expansive view.' 'Americans havea…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/when-you-think-of-love-you-think-as-an-american-you-must-think-like-a/) [Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) > [I think people often forget how powerful they are. Sometimes it just takes one voice to save a life. When we speak up we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vivek-murthy/i-think-people-often-forget-how-powerful-they-are-sometimes-it-just/) [Vivek Murthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vivek-murthy/) > [I think the people I talk about are generally so stupid that they don't even know I'm saying bad things about them. I've run…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chelsea-handler/i-think-the-people-i-talk-about-are-generally-so-stupid-that-they-don/) [Chelsea Handler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chelsea-handler/) > [It's no accident that most self-help groups use 'anonymous' in their names; to Americans, the first step toward redemption is a ritual wiping out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-kirn/it-s-no-accident-that-most-self-help-groups-use-anonymous-in-their/) [Walter Kirn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-kirn/) > [We blacks were the first people embracing Obama, long before the people at expensive fundraisers were supporting him. We gave him his first love,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-jackson/we-blacks-were-the-first-people-embracing-obama-long-before-the/) [Jesse Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-jackson/) > [When I see a fan coming over, I can't help but make an assumption about what they want to talk about. A middle-aged American…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-dormer/when-i-see-a-fan-coming-over-i-can-t-help-but-make-an-assumption/) [Natalie Dormer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-dormer/) > [I think that, as Americans, we should never forget that when we tamper with freedom of speech, it is a very sensitive issue that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-b-rangel/i-think-that-as-americans-we-should-never-forget-that-when-we-tamper/) [Charles B. Rangel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-b-rangel/) > [“I like to think people are stronger than they appear at first glance. Perhaps the same goes for cities as well?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wildbow/i-like-to-think-people-are-stronger-than-they-appear-at-first-glance/) [wildbow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wildbow/) ## More by Ed Gillespie > [Well, my wife, Cathy Gillespie, worked for Joe Barton, who was running for Congress in 1984.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-gillespie/well-my-wife-cathy-gillespie-worked-for-joe-barton-who-was-running/) [Ed Gillespie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-gillespie/) > [Frankly, I thought we would have lost the House by now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-gillespie/frankly-i-thought-we-would-have-lost-the-house-by-now/) [Ed Gillespie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-gillespie/) > [I think one of the problems the Democrats have today is that they are an elitist party.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-gillespie/i-think-one-of-the-problems-the-democrats-have-today-is-that-they-are/) [Ed Gillespie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-gillespie/) > [Even as a partisan Republican, I'm not sure a 40-year run is healthy for either party.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-gillespie/even-as-a-partisan-republican-i-m-not-sure-a-40-year-run-is-healthy/) [Ed Gillespie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-gillespie/) > [I don't think we're as divided as many in the elite would have us believe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-gillespie/i-don-t-think-we-re-as-divided-as-many-in-the-elite-would-have-us/) [Ed Gillespie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-gillespie/) > [One is that President Clinton, in his first two years of his term, did not govern as he had campaigned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-gillespie/one-is-that-president-clinton-in-his-first-two-years-of-his-term-did/) [Ed Gillespie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-gillespie/) > [We are seeing at the Republican National Committee a phenomenon that is worth noting this week; maybe today, maybe tomorrow, maybe Wednesday, we will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-gillespie/we-are-seeing-at-the-republican-national-committee-a-phenomenon-that/) [Ed Gillespie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-gillespie/) > [I don't want to be disrespectful of the president of the United States, but as a political person, one of the things I appreciated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-gillespie/i-don-t-want-to-be-disrespectful-of-the-president-of-the-united/) [Ed Gillespie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-gillespie/) > [I don't believe we're the party of big business.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-gillespie/i-don-t-believe-we-re-the-party-of-big-business/) [Ed Gillespie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-gillespie/) > [They do believe that if we do not wage this war against terror in places like Baghdad and Kabul, we are more likely to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-gillespie/they-do-believe-that-if-we-do-not-wage-this-war-against-terror-in/) [Ed Gillespie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-gillespie/) > [So I think that our foreign policy, the president's strong and principled leadership when it comes to the war against terror and foreign policy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-gillespie/so-i-think-that-our-foreign-policy-the-president-s-strong-and/) [Ed Gillespie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-gillespie/) > [We are in favor of greater free markets.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-gillespie/we-are-in-favor-of-greater-free-markets/) [Ed Gillespie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-gillespie/) > [And so it was interesting for me to find myself very enamored of a Republican president, but Ronald Reagan was someone I thought captured…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-gillespie/and-so-it-was-interesting-for-me-to-find-myself-very-enamored-of-a/) [Ed Gillespie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-gillespie/) > [The fact is that we as a party at the Republican National Committee registered 3.4 million new voters in the past two years and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-gillespie/the-fact-is-that-we-as-a-party-at-the-republican-national-committee/) [Ed Gillespie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-gillespie/) > [People like passion in politics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-gillespie/people-like-passion-in-politics/) [Ed Gillespie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-gillespie/) [Explore all 34 Ed Gillespie quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-gillespie/) ## More American quotes > [I wasn't attracted to American cinema, but I fell in love with Los Angeles the minute I arrived.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-varda/i-wasn-t-attracted-to-american-cinema-but-i-fell-in-love-with-los/) [Agnes Varda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-varda/) > [William Maxwell's my favorite North American writer, I think. And an Irish writer who used to write for 'The New Yorker' called Maeve Brennan,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-munro/william-maxwell-s-my-favorite-north-american-writer-i-think-and-an/) [Alice Munro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-munro/) > [I have fallen in love with American names, the sharp names that never get fat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-vincent-benet/i-have-fallen-in-love-with-american-names-the-sharp-names-that-never/) [Stephen Vincent Benet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-vincent-benet/) > [I really like a lot of American country stuff, so my music has that influence, but I don't like to be set within a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jade-bird/i-really-like-a-lot-of-american-country-stuff-so-my-music-has-that/) [Jade Bird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jade-bird/) > [I certainly don't think that the heirs of the American Revolution were a particularly noble class.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-w-brands/i-certainly-don-t-think-that-the-heirs-of-the-american-revolution/) [H. W. Brands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-w-brands/) > [Congress passed the American Rescue Plan Act in a tremendous investment to support millions of workers without a paycheck and behind on bills.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jake-auchincloss/congress-passed-the-american-rescue-plan-act-in-a-tremendous/) [Jake Auchincloss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jake-auchincloss/) > [Small businesses are the backbone of the American economy and employ almost half of the working population. Yet because of their size, they rarely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-lipinski/small-businesses-are-the-backbone-of-the-american-economy-and-employ/) [Dan Lipinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-lipinski/) > [Although I write in English, and despite the fact that I'm from America, I consider myself an Armenian writer. The words I use are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-saroyan/although-i-write-in-english-and-despite-the-fact-that-i-m-from/) [William Saroyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-saroyan/) > [When we first sold the Wallace and Gromit shorts to America, people suggested we get rid of the strange British accents and put clear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-park/when-we-first-sold-the-wallace-and-gromit-shorts-to-america-people/) [Nick Park](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-park/) > [Firefighters and rescue workers are American superheroes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerry-kennedy/firefighters-and-rescue-workers-are-american-superheroes/) [Kerry Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerry-kennedy/) > [France has not only built a bureaucratic barrier against American culture, it has constructed a notorious intellectual case against it as well. The French…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tyler-cowen/france-has-not-only-built-a-bureaucratic-barrier-against-american/) [Tyler Cowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tyler-cowen/) > [New York and San Francisco are distinctly different. San Francisco is driving the American media, not New York. You have young, microwaved millionaires and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-whitlock/new-york-and-san-francisco-are-distinctly-different-san-francisco-is/) [Jason Whitlock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-whitlock/) > [Well look, CIA is an agency that has to collect intelligence, do operations. We have to take risks and it's important that we take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-panetta/well-look-cia-is-an-agency-that-has-to-collect-intelligence-do/) [Leon Panetta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-panetta/) > [Food as a hobby used to be an elite pastime, and it has become something that is totally ordinary for people of every background.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-goodyear/food-as-a-hobby-used-to-be-an-elite-pastime-and-it-has-become/) [Dana Goodyear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-goodyear/) > [It's important for American soldiers to be culturally sensitive when deployed in foreign countries. But it's just as important for the U.S. never to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-bauer/it-s-important-for-american-soldiers-to-be-culturally-sensitive-when/) [Gary Bauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-bauer/) [Browse all 7,717 American quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I'm an American first, and I think that's how most people are.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ed Gillespie" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-gillespie/i-m-an-american-first-and-i-think-that-s-how-most-people-are/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "American" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-gillespie/i-m-an-american-first-and-i-think-that-s-how-most-people-are/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/20d/ed-gillespie-18531_firsts_i-m-an-american-first-and-i-think-that-s_2018398.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/20d/ed-gillespie-18531_firsts_i-m-an-american-first-and-i-think-that-s_2018398.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/20d/ed-gillespie-18531_firsts_i-m-an-american-first-and-i-think-that-s_2018398.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I'm an American first, and I think that's how most people are.” — Ed Gillespie", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Ed Gillespie", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-gillespie/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I'm an American first, and I...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-gillespie/i-m-an-american-first-and-i-think-that-s-how-most-people-are/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-gillespie/i-m-an-american-first-and-i-think-that-s-how-most-people-are/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```