"If somebody's not prepared to answer the question, you can keep asking"
About this Quote
Bashir's wording is doing careful work. "Prepared" shifts the burden onto the subject's readiness, not the legitimacy of the question. It implies that the question already deserves an answer; what remains is whether the person in the chair can withstand it. "Keep asking" is blunt, almost childlike, which is the point: repetition strips away the adult varnish of PR language. Ask again and again and the choreography cracks. Either the subject answers, or the audience watches them refuse in real time.
This is also a miniature manifesto for the era Bashir helped define: high-stakes televised interviews where access is scarce and image management is constant. In that environment, the interviewer isn't just gathering information; they're staging accountability. The subtext is adversarial, even predatory if mishandled: persistence can illuminate, but it can also become a performance of dominance. Bashir's quote lands because it names the awkward truth on both sides of the camera: power often hides behind politeness, and repetition is how you make that hiding visible.
Quote Details
| Topic | Perseverance |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Bashir, Martin. (2026, January 18). If somebody's not prepared to answer the question, you can keep asking. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/if-somebodys-not-prepared-to-answer-the-question-6307/
Chicago Style
Bashir, Martin. "If somebody's not prepared to answer the question, you can keep asking." FixQuotes. January 18, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/if-somebodys-not-prepared-to-answer-the-question-6307/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"If somebody's not prepared to answer the question, you can keep asking." FixQuotes, 18 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/if-somebodys-not-prepared-to-answer-the-question-6307/. Accessed 12 Feb. 2026.








