Fact check: "Americans can always be counted on to do the right thing...after they have exhausted all other possibilities." did Winston Churchill actually say this?

1. Summary of the results

The evidence strongly indicates that Winston Churchill did not make this statement. Multiple credible sources, including Quote Investigator and Richard Langworth (a Churchill quotation expert), have found no evidence of Churchill ever saying these words ^{[1] [2]}. The quote's actual origin has been traced to Abba Eban, an Israeli politician, who made similar remarks about "nations" (not specifically Americans) in 1967 ^[1]. Churchill died in 1965, two years before the earliest documented version of this quote appeared ^[3].

2. Missing context/alternative viewpoints

Several important contextual elements are worth noting:

• The quote's evolution can be traced chronologically:
• 1967: Original version by Abba Eban about "nations" in general ^[1]
• 1970: Modified version attributed to an "unnamed Irishman" in a Congressional hearing ^[1]
• 1980: First documented attribution to Churchill ^[3]
• This misattribution is an example of "Churchillian Drift" - a phenomenon where memorable quotes are incorrectly attributed to famous, quotable figures like Churchill ^[2]

3. Potential misinformation/bias in the original statement

The persistence of this misattribution reveals several important factors:

• No primary sources - including Churchill's transcripts, memoirs, or private writings - contain this quote ^{[4] [4]}
• The quote's popularity benefits from:

1. Churchill's reputation: As a highly quotable figure, his name lends authority to statements, making them more likely to be shared and believed ^[5]

2. Internet circulation: The ease of sharing quotes online without verification has contributed to the spread of misattributed quotes ^[5]

This case demonstrates the importance of verifying quotations through primary sources rather than relying on popular attributions, especially for widely circulated internet quotes.