Josh Hawley Busted After Using Fake Founding Father Quote To Push Religious Agenda

Sen Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) is under fire for a Fourth of July tweet that managed to include both a false claim and a false quote.

Hawley tweeted a quote he claimed to be from Founding Father Patrick Henry saying the United States was founded “on the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”

Just one problem: Henry ― a slave owner perhaps best remembered for his “give me liberty or give me death” quote ― never said it.

Patrick Henry: “It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded, not by religionists, but by Christians; not on religions, but on the Gospel of Jesus Christ. For this very reason, peoples of other faiths have been afforded asylum, prosperity,… — Josh Hawley (@HawleyMO) July 4, 2023

The United States was not founded as a Christian nation ― the First Amendment makes that clear ― and Henry, while deeply religious, didn’t say anything of the sort.

Nor did any of the other Founding Fathers.

The quote is actually from a 1956 magazine article that discussed Henry’s faith.

You will be unsurprised to hear that Patrick Henry never said this. It comes from a 1956 article in a magazine called The Virginian. But what's a fake quote between friends? https://t.co/PZCEhfNlqW — James Surowiecki (@JamesSurowiecki) July 5, 2023

Patrick Henry: "If you put fake quotes in my mouth after I die, I'm going to come back as a ghost and poltergeist the shit out of you." https://t.co/NYdHMHCjRQ — Jeet Heer (@HeerJeet) July 5, 2023

What’s it like to know that every time you open your mouth

The people who conferred degrees on you at Stanford and Yale

Must be cringing at the vacuousness that spews from your lips https://t.co/dJEAzD8ZYp pic.twitter.com/eZ0E2oEC7N — Adam Cohen Lawyers for Good Government #DemCast (@axidentaliberal) July 5, 2023

"As one of the largest Founding Fathers, I wish Josh Hawley would stop using fake quotes" — Abraham Lincoln https://t.co/rmsAq1UV3q — 🦀 Jon Schwarz 🦀 (@schwarz) July 5, 2023

Counterpoint: Patrick Henry never said this. Hawley remains a towering simpleton https://t.co/QFCHQMdjfr — Snooze (@BigSnooze) July 5, 2023