* “It is a situation that we will handle.”–President Donald Trump’s response to North Korea’s ICBM launch.
* “America’s diplomatic power is being weakened internally as complex global crises are growing externally.”–Excerpt from a letter to Secretary of State Rex Tillerson from Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona and Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire.
* “It’s time to stop tweeting and start leading.”–Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.
* “Of all the ways Donald Trump has damaged this country, arguably the most subtle yet insidious is that he’s taught us not to expect the chief executive to say anything of value. It is not just that he is ineloquent, though he is. … No, Trump’s problem is that he has nothing to say. And the more he says, the more obvious that becomes.”–Leonard Pitts, Miami Herald.
* “A year after his election, Trump continues to lie about his commitment to saving jobs at Carrier or anywhere else. And workers are taking note.”–Chuck Jones, former president of Indiana-based United Steel Workers Local 1999.
* “If we’ve learned anything in the past few decades (and it’s not clear that we have), it’s that major economic and social legislation should have at least some bipartisan support. Otherwise, we get caught in a game of ceaseless interruption.”–Robert Samuelson, Washington Post.
* “I don’t think our message should be any different than it was when F.D.R. was president or J.F.K. was president. If you work hard and play by the rules, we’ve got your back.”–California Democratic Attorney General Xavier Becerra.
* “Democrats have to get back in the habit of talking about freedom. Your freedom very much depends on whether you can start a business and know you have access to health care, whether you can marry someone you love or sue a bank that is cheating you.”–Pete Buttigieg, mayor of South Bend, Ind.
* “The message here is clear: Republicans aren’t going to defy their mad king over anything as mushy and amorphous as democratic norms, rationality or national honor.”–Michele Goldberg, New York Times.
* “Outside of highly-educated suburbs and racially-diverse cities, Democrats still do not have an effective response to Trumpism. … Democrats have to do better in whiter, more rural areas. … Without the white working class, Democrats will need everything else to go spectacularly well to retake the House of Representatives next year.”–David Leonhardt, New York Times.
* “It is imperative that we become much better in educating students not just to take good jobs but to create good jobs.”–Florida International University President Mark Rosenberg.
* “We wake up every morning to a new tweet (from Trump) and as long as that keeps going, I think the electorate will wake up.”–Ione Townsend, chairwoman of the Democratic Party of Hillsborough County.
* “As critical as economic growth is, conservation will not happen in a free-market society.”–Lindsay Cross, executive director of the Florida Wildlife Corridor, in underscoring the need to keep pushing for the implementation of Amendment 1 that set aside money to preserve wild Florida.
* “With the inventory available, we’re all kind of captive in our homes right now. … The demand for apartments is just as high.”–David Bennett, president of the Pinellas Realtor Organization.
* “I assure you, this is the man who did this.”–TPD Chief Brian Dugan on the arrest of Seminole Heights serial-killer suspect Howell Donaldson III.
* “I trust our teachers are doing right by kids today.”–Hillsborough School Superintendent Jeff Eakins.
* “We’re seeing a resurgence of cocaine, a resurgence of heroin.”–Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri.
* “It’s part of it, but it’s not what they’ll need.”–Hillsborough County Administrator Mike Merrill, saying it will take more than $150 million from the Rays to build a ballpark in Ybor City.