John McCain demonstrably used this joke and attached Mao’s name to it. The Mao attribution is unsupported; identifying McCain as a documented user does not establish him as its original writer.
“It's always darkest before it's totally black” Used by John McCain with a humorous Mao credit; original authorship unknown.
Can you use it?
? We couldn’t establish where this was first published, so there’s no rights status to give. Credit it as shown above — just don’t present it as public domain, and get permission for commercial or published reuse.
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In context
Evoking the world of John McCain — U.S. senator and documented user. Theme: "It's always darkest before it's totally black". Atmospheric and restrained, cinematic directional light, a muted period-appropriate palette, fine grain and texture. Compose with generous empty space for the quote and a small credit line. No lettering in the image itself.
Minimalist
Minimalist editorial slide for the quote "It's always darkest before it's totally black". Clean background, a single muted accent color, generous negative space, subtle paper or linen texture, no literal illustration — let the words carry it. Reserve clear space for a serif quote and a small credit line. No lettering in the image itself.
Provenance
The source
Documented use
McCain at Harvard’s Institute of Politics, reported December 1999
CNN’s transcript ↗ includes both McCain’s use and an anecdote explaining the humorous Mao attribution.
The inspected full Wikiquote entry also points to a 1983 A-Team episode, “The Rabbit Who Ate Las Vegas,” as an earlier television lead. That episode was not inspected, so McCain is identified only as a documented later user, not as the earliest speaker or originator.
The joke’s original author and first publication are not established. McCain’s documented modern use is not a public-domain clearance.
Rights status is our research, not legal advice — and copyright varies by country and edition. For commercial or published use, confirm with the rightsholder. See terms.
Fact-check
Often misattributed
A documented joke credit should not be mistaken for evidence from Mao’s works.
~
Humorous attribution: Mao Zedong
Wikiquote ↗ identifies this as a humorous misattribution; CNN ↗ records how McCain used it.
✓McCain’s use is documented; the original joke writer is not.
Context
Why it mattered
At the Harvard event, McCain was discussing the financial advantage of George W. Bush’s campaign when he offered this reversal of the familiar darkest-before-dawn proverb. CNN later aired him using the same joke; Bill Kristol recalled McCain explaining that adding Mao’s name made it funnier.
Explore
Filed under
More provenance-checked quotes on the same theme, each with its reuse status.
John McCain was an Arizona senator and presidential candidate whose public appearances mixed serious policy arguments with jokes at his own expense. Contemporary reporting and later broadcast footage document his use of this line, but neither establishes that he invented it.
For writers & researchers
Cite this
The primary source (Chicago)
Newman, David C. “McCain Touts Reform at IOP.” The Harvard Crimson, December 20, 1999. CNN, State of the Union, August 26, 2018, transcript.
This verification page
Quotle.info. “Who really said ‘It's always darkest before it's totally black’?” Last verified 9 Nov 2026. https://quotle.info/who-said/its-always-darkest-before-its-totally-black/