--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I don't think anybody can with a straight…" description: "\"I don't think anybody can with a straight face say that the Russians did not set out to influence our election, and they did so.\" — Stephen Colbert" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/170/stephen-colbert-503_election_i-don-t-think-anybody-can-with-a-straigh_191988.png" --- # I don't think anybody can with a straight face say that… ![“I don't think anybody can with a straight face say that the Russians did not set out to influence our election, and they did so.” quote by Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/170/stephen-colbert-503_election_i-don-t-think-anybody-can-with-a-straigh_191988.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/170/stephen-colbert-503_election_i-don-t-think-anybody-can-with-a-straigh_191988.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/170/stephen-colbert-503_election_i-don-t-think-anybody-can-with-a-straigh_191988.png) > “I don't think anybody can with a straight face say that the Russians did not set out to influence our election, and they did so.” [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker asserts that Russia deliberately tried to influence the election and succeeded. **In simple terms:** Russians tried to sway the vote and succeeded. Key Takeaway Recognize foreign interference risks. Themes politics truth media foreign influence Mood critical concerned Type analysis commentary When to use this quote - voting - policy analysis - media literacy Key Concepts democracy propaganda electoral integrity Questions to Reflect On - How can we verify such claims? - What safeguards protect elections? A Different Perspective Complex motives may be oversimplified. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Election](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/election/) [Influence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/influence/) [Russia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/russia/) [Russians](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/russians/) [Straight face](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/straight-face/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [I notice anytime anything wrong happens, establishment politicians like to say the Russians.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/i-notice-anytime-anything-wrong-happens-establishment-politicians/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [Those Russians. They did worse things when they entered Pomerania than we ever did in Russia.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walther-funk/those-russians-they-did-worse-things-when-they-entered-pomerania-than/) Walther Funk > [The Russians did much bigger space launch vehicles for launching satellites and for getting men in orbit. They did that much sooner than America…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/burt-rutan/the-russians-did-much-bigger-space-launch-vehicles-for-launching/) [Burt Rutan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/burt-rutan/) > [We know the Russians did everything they could to be involved in our campaign. We know that what they're doing around the world right…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-manchin/we-know-the-russians-did-everything-they-could-to-be-involved-in-our/) [Joe Manchin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-manchin/) > [The United States can tell you all about what's wrong with the British, to say nothing of the Russians.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-hays-sulzberger/the-united-states-can-tell-you-all-about-what-s-wrong-with-the/) [Arthur Hays Sulzberger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-hays-sulzberger/) > [What the Russians did in the election in 2016 was clearly short of war, yet it was a pretty aggressive act to go into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-e-sanger/what-the-russians-did-in-the-election-in-2016-was-clearly-short-of/) [David E. Sanger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-e-sanger/) > [“I suppose you could say that the Russians had a big appetite for life, or you could say they were dissolute and decadent, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nelson-demille/i-suppose-you-could-say-that-the-russians-had-a-big-appetite-for-life/) [Nelson DeMille](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nelson-demille/) > [I think it's safe to say that the Russians are extremely interested in anything that has to do with the U.S. political system. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dmitri-alperovitch/i-think-it-s-safe-to-say-that-the-russians-are-extremely-interested/) [Dmitri Alperovitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dmitri-alperovitch/) > [I've always known that dumb people existed. 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No. I maintain it didn't flip in… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/after-eight-years-of-barack-obama-look-what-happened-in-this-election/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [Many people who voted for Mr. Obama in the last election did so based on skin color.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alveda-king/many-people-who-voted-for-mr-obama-in-the-last-election-did-so-based/) [Alveda King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alveda-king/) > [I have never analyzed a presidential election as much as I did the Trump-Clinton race of 2016.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-beckel/i-have-never-analyzed-a-presidential-election-as-much-as-i-did-the/) [Bob Beckel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-beckel/) > [It is absurd to think that anything in us could have the least influence upon our election. Some say that God did foresee that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-watson/it-is-absurd-to-think-that-anything-in-us-could-have-the-least/) [Thomas Watson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-watson/) ## More by Stephen Colbert > [Don't be bitter. Everybody suffers. If you can accept your suffering then you will understand other people better. Be grateful for pain. Love life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/don-t-be-bitter-everybody-suffers-if-you-can-accept-your-suffering/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [Cynicism masquerades as wisdom, but it is the farthest thing from it. Because cynics don’t learn anything. Because cynicism is a self-imposed blindness, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/cynicism-masquerades-as-wisdom-but-it-is-the-farthest-thing-from-it/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [We all deserve credit for this new surveillance state that we live in because we the people voted for the Patriot Act. 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It is all about tolerance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-franz/elections-are-not-a-beauty-contest-it-is-all-about-tolerance/) Vladimir Franz > [UN peacekeeping operations are now increasingly complex and multi-dimensional, going beyond monitoring a ceasefire to actually bringing failed States back to life, often after…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kofi-annan/un-peacekeeping-operations-are-now-increasingly-complex-and-multi/) [Kofi Annan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kofi-annan/) > [The election of Trump threw the chess board up. The pieces are all over the place. 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