Nearly 20 percent of readers submitted this exchange from just two days into the Trump presidency. “No other quote quite typifies this administration like this one,” wrote Joan Tindell of Tucson. Asked on NBC’s “Meet the Press” why the president told then-press secretary Sean Spicer to make easily disproved claims about the crowd size at Trump’s inauguration, Conway replied, “You’re saying it’s a falsehood, and they’re giving — our press secretary, Sean Spicer, gave alternative facts to that.” Moderator Chuck Todd replied, “Alternative facts are not facts; they’re falsehoods.” Conway’s quote “ushered us into our era of dystopia right away,” said Mary Wirth of West Lafayette, Ind. “The use of ‘alternative facts,'” wrote Ryan Grella of Los Angeles, “set the stage for allowing America to have two contradictory narratives to exist side by side. This only accelerated the divide in this country.”

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The runner up: “Nevertheless, she persisted.” — Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Feb. 7

When the Senate majority leader cut off Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s (D-Mass.) speech against attorney general nominee Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), he argued that Warren had violated Senate rules against impugning a senator’s character. “She was warned,” intoned McConnell. “She was given an explanation. Nevertheless, she persisted.” McConnell probably didn’t expect that the last sentence would become “a rally cry for women to speak out, run for political office, and otherwise activate millions of women to engage more in the political process,” as Terri Saveley of Lawrence, Kan., put it. Thirteen percent of readers picked this quote, including Victoria Ford of St. Paul, Minn., who wrote “Throughout the year — the Women’s March, the staggering number of women running for office, the #MeToo movement, and more — women have persisted in the face of opposition, abuse, and dismissal.”

Honorable mentions

“Covfefe” — President Trump, May 31

“This whole year has been nonsensical and hard to follow,” wrote Betsy Crumb of Seattle, “just like this ‘word.'”

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“Me too.” — Tarana Burke, Alyssa Milano and many others, Oct. 15

“I hope this year is known for the woman who found their voice against sexual harassment, abuse, and assault,” said Ayla Hussey of Asheville, N.C.

“Nobody knew health care could be so complicated.” — President Trump, Feb. 27

“One single sentence completely illuminates Trump’s world view,” said David Smith from Alexandria. “If he doesn’t understand something, how can anybody else?”

“Reclaiming my time.” — Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), July 27

“It symbolizes what women — especially black women — have accomplished in 2017,” wrote Bethany Manimbo of Silver Spring.

“I think there’s blame on both sides.” — President Trump, Aug. 15, after clashes between white supremacists and protesters in Charlottesville

Bari Cooper of Brambleton, Va., said that “this was the moment, even more so than the ‘grab them by the ___’ moment, when I realized that Trump truly lacked a filter and a moral compass.”