He's known for sage advice, so it's perhaps not surprising that Albus Dumbledore found his wise words quoted on BBC Question Time last night – by a member of the government, no less.
Tory MP Sam Gyimah, parliamentary under-secretary of state for prisons, probation, rehabilitation and sentencing, was defending Theresa May's chastisement of Donald Trump's recent Islamaphobic tweets.
"It takes great bravery to stand up to your enemies, it takes even more bravery to stand up to your friends," he said. But it wasn't long before eagle-eyed viewers pointed out that we've heard a very similar sentiment before – from the beloved fount of wisdom that is Dumbledore.
Conservative @SamGyimah has praised Theresa May for rebuking President Trump on his retweeting of Britain First #bbcqt pic.twitter.com/a9wFONx3KX
— BBC Question Time (@bbcquestiontime) November 30, 2017
@BethanLaura19 I watched this last night thinking where have I heard this before???? pic.twitter.com/AoTQj3DDmM
— Olivia Henry 🌹 (@oliviamch93) December 1, 2017
— Robert Martin (@rmartin199324) December 1, 2017
Now, all we need is for Trump to quote Voldemort, and the prophecy will be complete! #HarryPotter #bbcqt
— Tanya Rupa (@ScifiSpirit) December 1, 2017
As if Sam Gyimah actually quoted Dumbledore on Question Time last night
— Matt Turner (@MattTurner4L) December 1, 2017
The wizard famously said almost the exact same thing in JK Rowling's series, praising Neville Longbottom in Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone for bravely trying to stop his friends Harry, Hermione and Ron from “sneaking out” of the Gryffindor dorms and losing them house points.
"It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to your enemies, but a great deal more to stand up to your friends," Dumbledore reassured Longbottom.
'I am deeply uncomfortable about @realDonaldTrump coming to the UK', says government minister @SamGyimah. https://t.co/qpmVl6vUnV #bbcqt pic.twitter.com/TN3TXghi0o
— BBC Politics (@BBCPolitics) December 1, 2017
After the show, Gyimah retweeted a BBC Politics video of himself making the statement, but has yet to clarify whether or not he intended to quote the wizard. Let's hope Trump claps back with his own JK Rowling-inspired insight – but given the number of times the outspoken author has slammed the US President, it's probably unlikely.
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