I fired him because he wouldn’t respect the authority of the president. That’s the answer to that. I didn’t fire him because he was a dumb son of a bitch, although he was, but that’s not against the law for generals. If it was, half to three-quarters of them would be in jail.

Harry S Truman (1884-1972) US President (1945-1953)

In Merle Miller, Plain Speaking: An Oral Biography of Harry S. Truman (1974)

On removing General Douglas MacArthur from command on April 11, 1951.