Furthering his streak of dramatic entrances, Ryan Zinke, the scandal-plagued former Trump administration official, marked his return to Congress on Tuesday by misattributing a quote to his hero Theodore Roosevelt.
Zinke has long fancied himself a conservative in the mold of Roosevelt. He has called himself a “Roosevelt guy” and an “unapologetic admirer” of the 26th president, and continues to cling to his Roosevelt-style brand despite blowback from the Roosevelt family.
During a closed-door GOP meeting Tuesday morning, even before he and others were sworn in as members of the 118th Congress, Zinke recited a quote from his hero — or so he thought — while voicing support for Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) to be the next speaker of the House.
“I’ll use the words of Teddy Roosevelt. ‘You’re either with us or against us,’” Zinke said, according to Politico. “The stakes are too high. I’m with you, Kevin.”
CNN reporter Edward-Isaac Dovere was first to point out Zinke’s flub. HuffPost could find no example of Roosevelt uttering such words. The phrase is a common one and hard to trace back to any one person; however, George W. Bush famously said those words during an anti-terrorism speech shortly after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
Zinke’s campaign did not respond to HuffPost’s request seeking clarification.
Rep. Ryan Zinke in the House Republicans meeting about being speaker, in favor of McCarthy: “I’ll use the words of Teddy Roosevelt: ‘You’re either with us or against us.'”

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