5 Best Fictional Presidents
Banks and government offices are shut down in remembrance of George Washington's birthday -- which [...]
Josiah Bartlet (The West Wing)
One of the most popular political shows of all time, The West Wing depicted the day to day dealings of the Josiah Bartlet administration. Bartlet emerged as a dark horse candidate in the Democratic primary and won a close presidential election. Bartlet was usually depicted as noble, destined for greatness from a young age, and capable of making practical decisions when needed.
However, Bartlet wasn't without flaws. He hid a multiple sclerosis diagnosis from all but a handful of people, resulting in a major political scandal. He accepted a censure from Congress, which became a major talking point during his re-election campaign. He also temporarily ceded his office to the Republican Speaker of the House when his daughter was kidnapped by terrorists.
During his eight years in office, Bartlet survived an assassination attempt, brokered peace between Israel and Palestine, and reformed social security. His successor was also a Democrat and had much of the same staff as Bartlet, ensuring continuity in the West Wing.
Because of the recent election, The West Wing has enjoyed a resurgence of popularity. Google Trends indicate that The West Wing was incredibly popular during President Trump's inauguration.
Thomas Whitmore (Independence Day)
Thomas Whitmore delivered the most stirring speech in cinematic history in the build up to the climactic battle in Independence Day. Whitmore was one of just a handful of survivors from a massive attack on Earth by an invading alien fleet. The aliens had arrived just days before and quickly positioned their massive ships over major population centers...including one over the White House.
Whitmore and other world leaders assumed the aliens were friendly, but David Levinson, the ex-husband of his Communications Director, discovered that they were actually counting down for an attack. Whitmore escaped on Air Force One just moments before the aliens destroyed most of Earth's largest cities in a giant coordinated attack.
In the aftermath, Whitmore and his remaining forces coordinated a counterattack from Area 51, using a computer virus to disable the advanced shielding of the alien invaders. Whitmore, a former pilot, collected a ragtag group of pilots and led an assault on one of the alien ships. Shortly before the attack, he delivered his immortal words to his makeshift Air Force. "We will not go quietly into the night," he shouted. "We will not vanish without a fight! We're going to live on! We're going to survive! Today, we celebrate our Independence Day!" With inspiring words like that, it was a given that Whitmore and the US would win the day.
Whitmore returned in Independence Day: Resurgence, where he stopped a second alien invasion by leading a suicide mission to kill the alien's queen before her ship can drill into Earth's core and destroy the planet.
David Palmer (24)
Although Jack Bauer was the undisputed star of Fox's 24, David Palmer was arguably the show's second most important character. In Season 1, a group of terrorists kidnapped Bauer's daughter to force Bauer to assassinate Palmer, then a leading presidential candidate. Bauer instead faked Palmer's death and saved Palmer from a complex and needlessly dramatic conspiracy plot.
Palmer went on to become president and leaned heavily on Bauer whenever America was having a really bad day. Palmer recruited Bauer to stop a nuclear attack on the United States, while Bauer proved that a supposed recording implicating three countries of the attack was a forgery, thus saving Palmer's presidency. Several years later, a retired Palmer helped fake Bauer's death to save him from death from either the Chinese or the Secret Service, both of whom were trying to kill him.
Sadly, Palmer met a tragic fate like most of 24's other characters. One of Palmer's successors, President Logan, had Palmer killed to stage a crisis that would the US to move its military into Asia. Upon learning of Palmer's death, Bauer went on a one man crusade to find out who was responsible, ultimately leading to Logan's arrest.
President Skroob (Spaceballs)
Most fictional presidents are depicted as powerful, decisive leader, but Mel Brooks went for a more humorous approach in Spaceballs. President Skroob (played by Brooks himself) was the president of Planet Spaceballs, an evil, corrupt planet with a quickly dissipating atmosphere. Skroob ordered the construction of a giant vacuuming spaceship called the Spaceball I to steal the atmosphere of the neighboring planet Druidia.
Although Skroob was borderline incompetent, he nearly succeeded in stealing Druidia's air. Unfortunately for Skroob, Lone Starr (who was played by Bill Pullman AKA President Whitmore from Independence Day) returned Druidia's air and triggered Spaceball I's self-destruct sequence. Skroob was trapped on Spaceball I when it exploded and wound up on the Planet of the Apes.
Beth Ross (Prez)
DC rebooted its off-kilter Prez series in 2015, this time replacing the original "teen president" with a young woman turned viral video star named Beth Ross. In an eerily prescient twist, Ross became the next US president because of her celebrity fame. While she was expected to become another apathetic leader, Ross instead used her office to fight back against a society controlled by mega-corporations that treated people as assets to exploit.
Prez used satire to critically comment on modern day social issues from healthcare to the stagnant modern day political process. Sadly, DC decided not to publish a planned follow-up miniseries in 2016, citing low sales.
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