Murmu to Musk to Messi: 10 most memorable quotes of 2022
World leaders, sportspersons, Indian politicians, CEOs of tech giants gave statements that hit headlines in 2022
If COVID has left its mark on our lives, the ongoing Ukrainian war, massive layoffs in the tech world and Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter continued to stir up trouble around the world.
In India, a tribal lady became the President, the country’s highest constitutional post, and Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party for the first time tasted a win outside the capital. The FIFA World Cup kept the cup of joy overflowing for fans at the end of the year with a thrilling, edge-of-the-seat final.
Here are some of the most memorable statements made around these events that shook the world:
‘So many times I dreamed it…’
Soon after he lifted the World Cup trophy at the Lusail Stadium in Doha in December, football legend Lionel Messi posted a series of pictures and penned a heartfelt note on his social media handle, which became the most liked Instagram post in the social media app’s history.
“CHAMPIONS OF THE WORLD!!!!!!! So many times I dreamed it, so much I wanted it that I still don’t fall, I can’t believe it……”, he wrote. Besides thanking his family, and all who supported him and also to all who believed in them, he gave credit to his entire team for the victory – ‘the merit is of this group, which is above individuals, is the strength of all fighting for the same dream that was also the one of all Argentinians.’
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Earlier, he also clarified that he was not retiring after the World Cup win pointing out, “I love soccer, what I do. I enjoy being part of the national team, the group. I want to enjoy a couple of more matches being a world champion.”
“I got this wrong” : Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta Platforms, formerly Facebook
More than 11,000 Meta employees (around 13 per cent of the group’s 87,000 employees) lost their jobs in November this year after the company went in for mass layoffs. In a blog post, the founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg apologised to employees of the social media giant and said the layoffs were a “last resort.” He told staff: “I got this wrong, and I take responsibility for that.”
“I want to take accountability for these decisions and for how we got here,” he said in a blog post. “I know this is tough for everyone, and I’m especially sorry to those impacted,” he added. That apology was quite a historic one but probably was poor solace for those who lost their jobs.
‘Should I step down as head of Twitter?’ Elon Musk, CEO of Twitter
On December 19, Elon Musk, who has been receiving plenty of flak for his erratic and toxic management decisions after taking over Twitter, posted this million dollar question (in frustration??) on the platform that he owned.
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“Should I step down as head of Twitter? I will abide by the results of this poll.” After 57.5 per cent gave the nod, while 42.5 per cent disagreed, he tweeted two days later that he would resign as CEO as soon as he finds someone “foolish” enough to take the job! “After that, I will just run the software & servers teams,” he added for good measure. Obviously, few took him seriously but called out his bluff.
‘President Putin though he could roll into Ukraine…’
In March this year, US President Joe Biden had tweeted, “President Putin thought he could roll into Ukraine and the world will roll over. Instead, he met with a wall of strength he never anticipated or imagined — he met Ukrainian people.” Nothing could have been further from the truth and this holds true nine months later as well.
‘We are coming for your ill-begotten gains’: US President Biden to Russian oligarchs and leaders
In March 2022, in his first State of the Union address, US President Joe Biden allayed the concerns of the world over the ongoing war in Ukraine, promising to check Russia’s aggression. And told the “Russian oligarchs and corrupt leaders” that the US had built billions of dollars of this violent regime but no more! “United States Department of Justice is assembling a dedicated task force to go after their crimes”, the President asserted. “We are coming for your ill-begotten gains”, he proclaimed, pledging that the US and European allies were coming after their yachts, luxury apartments and private jets.
‘I need ammunition, not a ride’
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky gave this memorable, terse response to a U.S. offer of safe transportation, just two days after Russia invaded Ukraine in February this year – “I need ammunition, not a ride.”
‘If you are the President of the United States…’
“If you’re the President of the United States, you can declassify just by saying ‘It’s declassified,’ even by thinking about it,” Donald Trump said in a Fox News interview in September leaving the world gobsmacked with his arrogance. This was while discussing a Department of Justice investigation into his alleged mishandling of classified documents he was supposed to return when he left the White House. His glib statement reverberated around the world.
At the height of the controversy over his stand against the COVID-19 jab, and after Australia deported him before he could play the Australian Open in January on health and good order grounds, tennis great Novak Djokovich said, “I was never against vaccination.” He had taken vaccines as a child, but he clarified that “I’ve always supported the freedom to choose what you put in your body.” The Serbian tennis player was ready to skip Grand Slam tournaments if he was forced to take the COVID-19 vaccine.
The poor in India can dream…
In July, when she took her oath as the 15th President of India, Droupadi Murmu said, “My election is proof that the poor in India can dream and make them come true.” Her words resonated with every Indian.
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Kejriwal is not a terrorist…
After Arvind Kejirwal’s AAP won a massive mandate in Punjab, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal told a crowd of ecstatic party workers outside the AAP office in Delhi, “Badi badi kursiyaan hil gayi hain Punjab ke andar. Sukhbir Singh Badal lost, Captain saheb lost, Channi saheb lost, Parkash Singh Badal saheb lost, Navjot Singh Sidhu lost, Bikram Singh Majithia lost. The people of Punjab have worked wonders, and this is a big revolution.
Further he added, “They said Kejriwal is a terrorist. Today, through these results, the people of the country have said that Kejriwal is not a terrorist, Kejriwal is the country’s true son and deshbhakt.”