Rand Paul made up a bunch of Thomas Jefferson quotes

Rand Paul
(Image credit: Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Rand Paul, noted fan of the Founding Fathers, made up a lot of quotes by Thomas Jefferson and others in his first two books, according to BuzzFeed.

Take, for example, this quote, which the presidential candidate attributed to Jefferson: "My reading of history convinces me that most bad government results from too much government." Sounds like something a member of the Tea Party would say, but alas, Jefferson never said it himself, according to the Thomas Jefferson Foundation.

Here's another one: "When governments fear the people, there is liberty. When the people fear the government, there is tyranny." Nice try, but not Jefferson.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

BuzzFeed says neither Paul nor his publisher have responded to a request for comment.

Explore More

Ryu Spaeth is deputy editor at TheWeek.com. Follow him on Twitter.