What Would Happen If 25 Fictional Presidents Ran The Country?

The office of the President of the United States of America is both the most prestigious and thankless job around. At a moment’s notice, you can go from beloved to universally vilified for events that, oftentimes, are out of your control. Just take a look at the last few months for President Obama— between the IRS scandal, the mishandling of the Boston bombing intelligence, and the recent NSA controversy, you'd be hard-pressed to find someone other than Amanda Bynes who has had a worse three months.

Despite the arrows we sling at whoever currently holds the office, there is no denying the allure the POTUS holds, and in no place is this more evident than Hollywood. Over the years we have seen an assortment of cinematic heavyweights—Harrison Ford, Morgan Freeman, Henry Fonda, and Peter Sellers, just to name a few—cast as fictional versions of the commander-in-chief simply because the position calls for an actor strong enough to portray the most powerful office in the land. The president may be the envy of all other politicians, but playing a fictional president can be just as big.

This Friday, Jamie Foxx joins the pantheon of big-screen politicians when he steps into the role of President James Sawyer in director Roland Emmerich’s White House Down. Amidst Obama’s weekly scandals and plummeting approval ratings, we’re sure plenty of people will leave the theaters this weekend wondering whether or not the fictional Sawyer could do a better job in the real world.

Well, we’re not going to stop at that. Instead, we’re breaking down What Would Happen if 25 Fictional Presidents Ran the Country. Let’s see which fictional politicians would bring us some much-needed hope and change, and which would leave us clamoring for our passports.

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Potential scandal: His shocking disregard for his own people
Greatest accomplishment: Avoiding all-out nuclear war
Memorable quote: “Moscow's been destroyed. Drop your bombs according to plan.”

In Fail-Safe, Henry Fonda plays a fictional president of the United States who is forced to nuke New York City after a rogue U.S. plane erroneously destroys Moscow. For Fonda, the nuking of New York is a sign of America's contrition in an attempt to avoid further war with the Soviets.

It's hard not to admire the testicular fortitude it took to pull off such an act, but if he decided to nuke a major city after every mistake the government made in the real world, the U.S. wouldn’t even make it to the mid-term elections.

Potential scandal: Surrounding himself with dangerously unhinged advisers
Greatest accomplishment: Attempting to put together a think tank of brilliant minds
Memorable quote: “Gentlemen, you can't fight in here! This is the War Room.”

One of the funniest on-screen presidents of all time is Merkin Muffley, played by the great Peter Sellers, from Stanley Kubrick’s darkly hilarious Dr. Strangelove. Muffley is an intellectual with a glass spine who gets pushed around by everyone from the Soviet Premier to his own subordinates. Just be glad he wasn't actually in charge during the Cold War.

Potential scandal: Being underage
Greatest accomplishment: Beating up legless vampires in the Oval Office
Memorable quote: “Peace in our time.”

In the DC Universe, Prez is an all-American teenager who somehow gets elected President and spends most of his term battling legless vampires in the White House along with a Native American sidekick named Eagle Free. Seriously.

Prez wasn’t one of the company’s strongest creations, but we could see how a bit of youthful exuberance and idealism could liven up Washington a bit. One scene in particular that's pretty appropriate for today's political climate: When Prez takes a bullet because of his belief in gun control.

Potential scandal: Air stealing
Greatest accomplishment: Capturing Princess Vespa
Memorable quote: “That's amazing. I've got the same combination on my luggage.”

President Skroob may not be the Commander-in-Chief of the United States, but we would be doing the office of the presidency a huge disservice by not including him here. Skroob is the incompetent leader of the planet Spaceball, whose sole mission is to steal all of the fresh air from the planet Druidia. Just replace the word “air” with “oil” and you pretty much have a road map of the last three decades of American presidents.

Skroob's ineptitude might not be anything new compared to what we've already seen from our leaders, but we'd be amped about the prospect of him unleashing Mega Maid on our foreign adversaries.

Potential scandal: Well, he's not really the president
Greatest accomplishment: Exposes a savings and loan scandal
Memorable quote: “She's great. She's really exotic! She's a princess! She's Polynesian—well, half Polynesian, and half American. She's Amnesian.”

After the President of the United States suffers a stroke and lands in a coma, a presidential impersonator named Dave Kovic is convinced by the Secret Service to stand in for the real Commander-in-Chief to keep the mentally unbalanced vice president from assuming the role. It's hair-brained scheme like you'd find on one of the later episodes of Happy Days, but somehow no one in the country can see through the façade, and the fake President Mitchell actually receives better press than the real one ever did.

What makes Dave Kovic’s performance as the president so popular? He’s a wide-eyed optimist, completely untouched by the Washington machine who approaches problems with compassion and optimism. Wild stuff, right? We'd love to see Dave tackle today’s tax, immigration, and gay rights issues with his outsider’s perspective.

Potential scandal: Romantic involvement with an environmental lobbyist
Greatest accomplishment: Resolving to draft a strong crime and gun control bill
Memorable quote: “Seven trillion dollar communications system at my disposal, and I can't find out if the Packers won.”

The American President can be viewed as one of the great romantic films of the ‘90s, but probe deeper an you'll see that the movie offers keen insight into the intricacies of Washington politics, thanks to a sharp script by Aaron Sorkin. He was high on cocke when he wrote it. Go figure.

President Andrew Shepherd (Michael Douglas), a widow, tries to win the affection of an environmental lobbyist. As he fawns after her like a grade school romantic, he also has to try to gain support for his crime control bill.

Though the bill doesn’t pass before the credits roll, President Shepherd does find a fiery resolve within himself to keep pushing these crime and gun control measures in order to protect citizens nationwide. Sign us up for that.

Potential scandal: Being too much of a badass
Greatest accomplishment: Saving all of humanity without messing up his hair
Memorable quote: “Today we celebrate our Independence Day!”

You cannot deny that Thomas J. Whitmore (Bill Pullman) is America’s most successful president—real or fictional—of the last 40 years. In Independence Day, Whitmore rallies a shattered Earth out of its depression and leads a bold attack against an invading army of aliens that saves the planet and forever cements his legacy as the best on-screen politician of all time.

Not since Teddy Roosevelt single handedly tamed an 800-pound black bear and turned it into his Secretary of State has a president oozed testosterone the way Whitmore did as he hopped into the cockpit of a jet and showed those greasy aliens how much ass America can kick.

No drones for Whitmore.

Potential scandal: Incompetency
Greatest accomplishment: Attempting to broker peace with an alien army
Memorable quote: “Why can't we all just get along?”

In Mars Attacks!, President James Dale (Jack Nicholson) tries his damnedest to negotiate peace between Earth and a violent invading army of aliens, and though his attempts are noble, eventually the aliens wreak havoc on our planet. Dale ends up dead. His reluctance to unleash a nuclear payload on the invading aliens before the attacks eventually results in his downfall. This guy made Jimmy Carter look like Patton.

Potential scandal: Cannibalism
Greatest accomplishment: The enslavement of mankind
Memorable quotes: “Abortions for some, miniature American flags for others.”

If you don’t ignore the fact that he turned everyone in the United States into slaves in order to build a gigantic death ray, you might consider President Kang to be one of the most successful politicians on this list.

Sure, he was hellbent on world destruction, but none of his policies got held up by an uncooperative congress or nosey whistle-blowers. Plus, he had the entire country working. That's a much better political record than we've experienced during the past few decades.

Potential scandal: Catching too many bodies
Greatest accomplishment: A tough stance on terrorism
Memorable quotes: “Get off my plane.”

Harrison Ford is best known for the iconic roles of Han Solo and Indiana Jones, but don't discount the glorious moment in 1997 when he took his educated fists to public office as President James Marshall in Air Force One. Marshall’s main goal: snuff out terrorism through extreme force. When Air Force One is hijacked by a terrorist cell, he is forced to kick the ass of every Commie on sight.

Instead of drone strikes and invasive surveillance, Marshall could take down all of America’s enemies with his own two hands, all while looking like a GQ cover.

Potential scandal: Murder
Greatest accomplishment: Pissing off Spider Jerusalem
Memorable quote: "It is not American to swaddle you in cotton wool from cradle to grave."

Known for his Cheshire grin and overall sociopathic outlook on society, Gary Callahan is the maniacal zealot who hates humanity and civil liberties from Warren Ellis’ Transmetropolitan comic book series. He kills rival politicians and idealistic reporters without blinking.

This is an amoral politician who makes Richard Nixon look like Jesus, and if he were around there'd be a whole lot of dead HuffPo employees...

Potential scandal: It's Morgan Freeman—the man's a prince
Greatest accomplishment: Helping create a secret space program designed to destroy comets
Memorable quote: “I believe in God. I know a lot of you don't, but I would like to offer a prayer for our survival, mine included.”

Today, “Hope” is a marketing slogan to sell bumper stickers and campaign buttons, but in 1998, under President Tom Beck (Morgan fucking Freeman) we had hope through his words and actions. With a city-sized comet hurtling toward Earth, Beck acts as the steady hand guiding the country and the planet through the difficult times.

We don’t know much about Beck’s political views from watching this movie (which makes it so easy to love him), but we at least know that if he ran things today, his speeches would make us melt like hot butterscotch ice cream.

Potential scandal: Infidelity
Greatest accomplishment: Winning?
Memorable quote: “I'm going to tell you something really outrageous. I'm going to tell you the truth.”

Primary Colors is loosely based on the presidential campaign of Bill Clinton, so, technically, we’ve already seen what Jack Stanton (John Travolta) would be like as Commander-in-Chief. However, with no intern named Monica Lewinsky in sight, we imagine this fictionalized version of Slick Willie would be much less controversial and far more successful than the genuine article. In fact, if you slap the wig back on Travolta’s head we'd vote for him tomorrow.

Potential scandal: Literally has no governing body
Greatest accomplishment: Going into people's homes in the middle of the night and wrecking the place
Memorable quote: “We Earthicans stand erect, with proud upthrust bosoms.”

If Futurama is to be believed, one day the Earth will again be ruled by Richard Nixon, albeit in the form of his preserved head. This Nixon is far nastier than his less-than-cuddly real world counterpart, having implemented numerous policies that threaten mankind on an almost weekly basis. As opposed to the real Nixon who usually went after us monthly.

With the nostalgia wave that American pop-culture is riding on, we could actually imagine a strong pro-jar-Nixon sentiment sweeping the nation in the near future. Just think of the smile that would creep across his jowls once he gets wind of the NSA surveillance program.

Potential scandal: Keeping his MS a secret
Greatest accomplishment: Brokering peace between Israel and Palestine
Memorable quote: “You know what you are? You're the Charlie Brown of missile defense. The Pentagon is Lucy.”

Here's a thought: The West Wing’s fictitious president, Jed Bartlet (Martin Sheen), is easily the most influential Democratic politician of the 21st century. This is a man who accomplished more in seven seasons of a TV show than our presidents have in the past 20 years. He is a Nobel Prize-winning intellectual progressive with an eye towards world peace and social programs designed to benefit the 99%. Played brilliantly by Martin Sheen, Bartlet is the type of president that makes you want to pull him out of the TV and throw him into the Oval Office.

There is no way he'd allow NRA lobbyists and corporate tycoons to run the country. He's a president who you could feel comfortable voting for; it’s just sad that it took a staff of Hollywood writers to create someone like him.

Potential scandal: Destroying the planet
Biggest accomplishment: Successfully led an army against an alien invasion
Memorable quote: “Do you know how much power I'd have to give up to be president?”

During his time as the President of the United States in the DC Universe, former convicted felon, Lex Luthor, oppressed civil liberties, made unscrupulous business decisions for his own gains, violently went after aliens, and got the planet involved in a devastating intergalactic war that he secretly orchestrated behind the scenes to enhance his image.

Unfortunately we don’t have to rack our brains too hard to imagine what Luthor would be like as our president. Sadly, as the world begins to resemble the comic book world more and more each day, President Luthor seems like one of the most plausible fictional politicians on this list. Still, it’s always nice to see the bald get some love.

Potential scandal: An unethical ex-wife and subordinates
Greatest accomplishment: Surviving an assassination attempt
Memorable quote: “You're not a member of my staff. You're not a government employee. And you're not my wife.”

There haven’t been many fictional TV presidents as proactive and influential as 24’s David Palmer. This is a man whose entire administration was besieged by terrorism, assassination attempts, and potential scandals, thanks to his untrustworthy aids and ex-wife. Yet despite it all, Palmer kept his cool and never let his personal problems come at the expense of the security of the country.

As scandal and never-ending wars have become the norm, we can’t help but look at what Palmer did during 24 with a twinge of admiration. We can’t imagine he would willingly go along with unmanned drone attacks that rack up civilian casualties or intrusive NSA spy programs. All we can do now is re-watch our 24 DVDs and think about the possibilities.

Potential scandal: Absolutely no political experience
Greatest accomplishment: Appointing his wife as VP
Memorable quote: [After assuming office] “Carol, our lives may very well change.”

Somewhere in the deserted corners of the direct-to-video movie market exists The Brady Bunch in the White House, a feature-length movie that focuses on Mike Brady becoming the President of the United States after a series of inexplicable blunders.

Unfortunately we can't imagine one scenario in the real world where President Brady doesn't reduce the country to a wasteland of leisure suits and pigtails. On the plus side, our dreams of seeing Secretary of State Alice would finally become a reality.

Potential scandal: Choosing his brother as vice president
Greatest accomplishment: Advocacy for social issues
Memorable quote: “I'm the government, I can do anything.”

We’ve all thought about how the world would be with Chris Rock in charge, and in Head of State we got about as close as we’re ever going to get.

How would President Gilliam fare in the real world? Well, we can't imagine that many of his constituents would enjoy constantly being roasted by him in front of the country, but we'd dig it. It would mark the first time the State of the Union Address would be aired on Comedy Central.

Potential scandal: He's a moron
Greatest accomplishment: Former five-time professional wrestling champion
Memorable quote: “Shit. I know shit's bad right now with all that starvin' bullshit. And the dust storms. And we runnin' out of French Fries and burrito coverings. But I got a solution.”

Who wouldn’t love a president who drives a monster truck, shoots machine guns during his speeches, and holds the distinction of being a former professional wrestling heavyweight champion? Dwayne Elizondo Mountain Dew Herbert Camacho (Terry Crews) is the president of a dystopian United States in Idiocracy. In this dark future, the country suffers from a startling food shortage, a bum economy, and environmental distress. In short, exactly what we're looking like within five years.

With a hulking physique and a boisterous personality that makes The Rock sound like a Buddhist monk, President Camacho looks more like a Wrestlemania superstar than a politician. At least Camacho’s State of the Union speeches would involve pyrotechnics and free Slim Jims. If we’re going down, we at least want to be entertained.

Potential scandal: Endless womanizing
Greatest accomplishment: Enclosing Springfield in a giant dome
Memorable quote: “I was elected to lead, not to read.”

Arnold Schwarzenegger isn't a work of fiction, but his presidency in The Simpsons Movie sure is. In his brief screen time, Schwarzenegger is convinced by the shady head of the EPA to place a colossal dome over Springfield to keep the town’s pollution from spreading.

Schwarzenegger’s birthplace will preclude him from ever becoming our Commander-in-Chief, but, as usual, The Simpsons gives us a brilliant look at what it might be like. It would be spectacular.

Between domes dropping from the sky and his thick accent making every speech unintelligible, the Schwarzenegger administration would certainly be four years of must-see TV, just as long as we make it out alive.

Potential scandal: Machine uprising
Greatest accomplishment: Attempting to poison the country’s water supply
Memorable quote: “God bless the Enclave! God bless America!”

John Henry Eden is the self-appointed President of the United States in the video game Fallout 3, which imagines the country as a vast nuclear wasteland. He also happens to be an artificial intelligence voiced by Malcolm McDowell and, thus, completely awesome. With so much of our lives already on computers, it only makes sense to have a digital Commander-in-Chief, and we'd be more than willing to give Eden a shot at the highest office in the land.

The thought of a president that can be downloaded like an app is just too convenient to pass up. Plus, computers are much more objective and can't be swayed by sex or bribes. Would it turn on humanity and use all of our electronics to rise against us? Of course. But since we got through W, we can get through anything.

Potential scandal: Keeping the details of the potential 2012 disasters a secret
Greatest accomplishment: Attempting to implement a program to ensure humanity’s survival
Memorable quote: “The world, as we know it, will soon come to an end.”

In Roland Emmerich’s 2012, Danny Glover plays President Thomas Wilson, who, along with other leaders from around the globe, secretly begins a project that would help some of humanity’s more important citizens survive a potential world-ending catastrophe. Though the morals behind such a project are a lil' muddy, we can’t help but look at Wilson’s decisiveness and think that some of those qualities would work well in the real world when dealing with shady special interest groups and lobbyists.

Instead of trying to please everyone, he simply makes objective decisions based on what's best for the future of our people. Yes, this makes him sound like a totalitarian despot. Bu the world's ending, so what are you gonna do?

Potential scandal: Shockingly shoddy judge of character
Greatest accomplishment: Trying to broker peace with Korea
Memorable quote: “The United States of America doesn't negotiate with terrorists.”

With his Redford-esque good looks and harmless charm, Aaron Eckhart is the prototypical on-screen president; unfortunately, his skills go to waste in the CGI-laden action flick, Olympus Has Fallen. As President Benjamin Asher, Eckhart spends most of his time here running for his life and looking very un-president-like while getting shot at by Korean militants for 120 grueling minutes.

Strong jaw and all, Asher can’t overcome his weak spine and worthless cabinet members. He'd be out of office faster than William Henry Harrison.

Potential scandal: Shockingly relaxed security at the White House
Greatest accomplishment: Keeping his Js clean
Memorable quote: “Get your hands off my Jordans.”

We’re not sure if director Roland Emmerich has been audited one too many times by the IRS or what, but he sure does love blowing up Washington D.C. In his latest flick, White House Down, we see a very presidential Jamie Foxx fight his way through a group of terrorists who have attacked the nation’s capital.

We are sure that Emmerich won’t give us much insight into President Sawyer’s political philosophy in his movie. Instead, we'll have rocket launchers. How would this strategy work in our current political climate? Bill O'Reilly and Sean Hannity wouldn't be walking around without flak jackets, that's for damn sure.