Banks and government offices are shut down in remembrance of George Washington’s birthday — which technically falls on Wednesday — however, people in the US commonly call the holiday Presidents Day, in honor of all the previous presidents who have spent time in the Oval Office.
Videos by ComicBook.com
While there are only 45 real-life US presidents, there have been countless fictional presidents in TV, movies, and comic books. So to celebrate the holiday, we’ve picked out five of our favorite fictional presidents:
Josiah Bartlet (The West Wing)
One of the most popular political shows of all time,ย The West Wingย depicted the day to day dealings of the Josiah Bartletย administration. Bartletย emerged as a dark horse candidate in the Democratic primary and won a close presidential election.ย Bartletย was usually depicted as noble, destined for greatness from a young age, andย capable of making practical decisions when needed.
However, Bartletย 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, Bartletย 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 Wingย has enjoyed a resurgence of popularity. Google Trends indicate that The West Wingย was incredibly popular during President Trump’sย inauguration.ย ย
ย
Thomas Whitmore (Independence Day)
Thomas Whitmore delivered the most stirring speech in cinematic history in the build up to the climactic battle inย Independence Day.ย Whitmoreย 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.
Whitmoreย 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. Whitmoreย escaped on Air Force One just moments before the aliens destroyed most of Earth’s largest cities in a giant coordinated attack.ย
In the aftermath, Whitmoreย 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,ย collected a ragtag group of pilots and ledย 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!”ย With inspiring words like that, it was a given that Whitmoreย and the US would win the day.ย
Whitmoreย returned inย 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.ย
ย
David Palmer (24)
Although Jack Bauer was the undisputed star ofย Fox’sย 24,ย David Palmer was arguably the show’sย second most important character. In Season 1,ย 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.ย
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 fromย 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 ofย 24‘s otherย 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 manย crusadeย to find out who was responsible, ultimately leading to Logan’s arrest.ย
ย
President Skroob (Spaceballs)
Most fictional presidents are depicted as powerful, decisive leader, but Mel Brooks went for a more humorous approach inย Spaceballs. President Skroobย (played by Brooks himself) was the president of Planet Spaceballs, an evil, corrupt planet with a quickly dissipating atmosphere. Skroobย ordered the construction of a giant vacuuming spaceship called the Spaceballย I to steal the atmosphere of the neighboring planet Druidia.
Although Skroobย was borderline incompetent, he nearly succeeded in stealing Druidia’sย air. Unfortunately for Skroob, Lone Starr (who was played by Bill Pullman AKAย President Whitmoreย fromย Independence Day) returned Druidia’sย air and triggered Spaceballย I’sย self-destruct sequence. Skroobย was trapped on Spaceballย I when it exploded and wound up on the Planet of the Apes.ย
ย
Beth Ross (Prez)
DC rebooted its off-kilterย Prezย series in 2015, this time replacing the original “teen president” with a young woman turned viral video star named Beth Ross. In an eerilyย prescient twist, Rossย 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 societyย controlled by mega-corporations that treated people as assets to exploit.
Prezย used satire toย 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.ย
ย