About

He Who Saves His Country Does Not Violate Any Law refers to a quotation of unknown origin commonly attributed to Napoleon Bonaparte. The quote was famously used by the Norwegian neo-Nazi terrorist Anders Behring Breivik in his manifesto and, in early 2025, by United States President Donald Trump. The quote, which falls under the concepts of realpolitik, authoritarianism, Machiavellianism and the state of exception, became a subject of viral debate on social media, with Trump's post being used as a caption for memes.

Origin

"He who saves his country, violates no law" is a quote of unconfirmed origin often ascribed to French military leader and self-crowned Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte. The quote is interpreted as a justification for not abiding by the rules of law for the purpose of the "greater good."^[1]

The quote was used by the Norwegian terrorist and Anders Behring Breivik, responsible for the 2011 Norway attacks, in his manifesto.^[2]

On February 15th, 2025, United States President Donald Trump posted the quote on his official X^[3] / Twitter account, with the post (shown below) garnering over 187 million views, 124,000 reposts and 687,000 likes in two days.

Spread

The post by President Donald Trump in mid-February 2025 was followed by viral reactions on X / Twitter, with some users accusing Trump of sending an autocratic message with the quote.

For example, on February 15th, 2025, X^[4] user @_sn_n posted a Soyjak vs. Chad meme that gained over 8,300 reposts and 134,000 likes in two days (shown below).

Trump's post was also used as a caption for photographs of militant and political organizations and single individuals who broke the law to make a certain statement.

For example, on February 15th, 2025, X^[5] user @babyybeckz combined the quote with the photograph of Luigi Mangione, the prime suspect in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thomson in late 2024. The post (shown below) received over 43,000 reposts and 540,000 likes in two days.

Additionally, users on X posted videos and images of Napoleon Bonaparte in mid-February 2025, including AI-generated images depicting Donald Trump as Napoleon Bonaparte (example^[6] shown below).

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References