President Thomas J. Whitmore's "Independence Day" Speech
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About
President Thomas J. Whitmore's Independence Day Speech is a memorable monologue uttered by the character President Whitmore from the 1996 science fiction action film Independence Day. The quote has inspired a series of video parodies, remixes, and a copypasta that states the speech in its entirety. The speech reads:
Good morning. In less than an hour, aircraft from here will join others from around the world. And you will be launching the largest aerial battle in the history of mankind. "Mankind." That word should have new meaning for all of us today. We can't be consumed by our petty differences anymore. We will be united in our common interests. Perhaps it's fate that today is the Fourth of July, and you will once again be fighting for our freedom… Not from tyranny, oppression, or persecution… but from annihilation. We are fighting for our right to live. To exist. And should we win the day, the Fourth of July will no longer be known as an American holiday, but as the day the world declared in one voice: "We will not go quietly into the night!" We will not vanish without a fight! We're going to live on! We're going to survive! Today we celebrate our Independence Day!
Origin
On July 3rd, 1996, 20th Century Fox released the film in the United States.[1] In the film, an army of aliens invades Earth. Before a retaliation strike, President Whitmore (portrayed by Bill Pullman) gives the speech to a fleet of fighter pilots (shown below).
Spread
On July 5th, 2006, YouTuber Yuccast posted a video parody of the scene in which a man reads the speech in public from atop a parking structure. The post received more than 1,500 views in less than 15 years (shown below, left).
On November 28th, YouTuber Ian A. Harrington shared a video of a best man reading the speech at a wedding. The post received more than 293,000 views in less than 11 years (shown below, right).
On July 4th, 2014, Tumblr [2] user peterstarkss psted the speech in a series of GIFs. The post recieved more than 200 notes in less than six years (shown below).
Two years later, on June 23rd, 2016, Complex[3] published "The Oral History of the President’s Speech in Independence Day." In the article, screenwriter Dean Devlin said of the speech:
Dean Devlin (screenwriter): I said, “Let me kind of just vomit out something really fast now and then we’ll spend a lot of time on it later and really rewrite it and make it perfect.” So I went into the other room and literally in five minutes I whipped the speech out, put it into the script--we didn’t even read it. It was just a placeholder.
Roland Emmerich (director): Dean said, “We can always change it.”
President Donald Trump Remix
On April 14th, 2020, Twitter user @mad_liberals posted a remix of the speech, superimposing President Donald Trump's face over President Whitmore's. The post received more than 17 million views, and 20,000 likes and 10,000 retweets (shown below).
We will not go quietly into the night. We will not vanish without a fight. We’re going to live on. We’re going to survive. pic.twitter.com/5lV3SuyeqF
— Mad "ObamaGate" Liberals (@mad_liberals) April 14, 2020
The following month, President Trump shared the video, receiving more than 259,000 likes and 82,000 retweets in less than two days.[4]
Pullman responded to the tweet,[5] "My voice belongs to no one but me, and I’m not running for president -- this year."
Pullman's independence Day co-stars also commented on the meme. Randy Quaid tweeted,[6] "@JackPosobiec At the premiere of our film ID4 the audience lined around 2 blocks and leapt to their feet, cheering with patriotic enthusiasm throughout the film. I had not seen that kind of intense fervor until the Trump rallies. Flag of United States #TrumpPence2020." The tweet received more than 300 likes and 95 retweets in less than 24 hours (shown below, left). Vivica A. Fox tweeted,[7] "PRETENDING U KNOW WHAT YOUR DOING?? CANT BELIEVE U WOULD INSULT OUR CLASSIC FILM THIS WAY! BUT HEY! TYPICAL POS BEHAVIOR! U NEVER HAD THE LEADERSHIP OR COURAGE TO DO THIS ROLE! NEVER!" The tweet reiceved more than 1,200 likes and 280 retweets in less than two days (shown below, right).
Various Examples
Search Interest
External References
[1] IMDB – Independence Day
[2] Tumblr – peterstarkss' Post
[3] Complex – The Oral History of the President’s Speech in ‘Independence Day’
[4] Twitter – @realdonaldtrump's Tweet
[5] Hollywood Reporter – Bill Pullman Responds to Donald Trump's Altered 'Independence Day' Clip
[6] Twitter – @RandyRRQuaid's Tweet
[7] Twitter – @MsVivicaFox's Tweet
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