To please everybody is impossible; were I to undertake it, I should probably please nobody.

The remark expresses a pragmatic view of leadership: public decisions inevitably disappoint some constituencies, and chasing universal approval can produce incoherence, timidity, or loss of principle. The second clause sharpens the warning—attempting to satisfy everyone may result in satisfying no one, because compromises made to placate opposing sides can alienate all parties and erode trust. Attributed to Washington, it aligns with the pressures he faced in balancing regional interests and partisan expectations, but the sentiment is also a common maxim in political and moral writing, which makes precise attribution and sourcing especially important.