Okay, it’s over folks. The most ridiculous presidential election in American history has finished, and the outcome has been very polarizing. But like everyone else I am pretty much done talking about it. In an effort to distract myself, and hopefully you readers out there, I came up with a list of the five worst fictional presidents in pop-culture. At least with THESE clowns, we can shut off the movie, close the book, or throw away the comic and be done with them! Here we go.
Lex Luthor
“Yes, it took two heat rays striking you simultaneously to fell you-But you have been comatose ever since. And a lot has happened during the interim.”
To clarify, I’m talking about the comic book version of Lex Luthor, not the motor-mouthed millennial played Jesse Eisenberg from Batman v. Superman. In the comics, specifically in the Our Worlds at War storyline, Luthor is Commander in Chief. As President, Luthor makes a backend deal with Brainiac, allows an alien probe to explode over Kansas killing thousands, and frames Bruce Wayne for murder. The guy was behind almost every major evil act in the DC Universe during the early 2000s. And after getting exposed by Superman and Batman, it’s safe to say Lex’s reelection campaign was put on hold.
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Greg Stillson
“The missiles are flying. Hallelujah, Hallelujah!”
Martin Sheen has played the President twice. Most remember him as President Josiah “Jed” Bartlet from The West Wing. That character was awesome and does not deserve to be on this list. But it was his performance in David Cronenberg’s adaptation of Stephen King’s The Dead Zone that gets him on this. Sheen plays Greg Stillson, a U.S. senator, and presidential candidate. When Cristopher Walken’s character, Johnny Smith, uses his psychic ability to see Stillson’s future, he has a vision of the man leading the world into nuclear war. But even before that Stillson is a sleazy and sketchy guy. Definitely not a name to check on any ballot.
Gaius Baltar
“I cannot stay here too long before my machine friends will become nervous and do something rash.”
Ronald D. Moore’s Battlestar Galactica remake was filled with questionable characters. But if the series has a “main villain” (at least for a while) it was Gaius Baltar, played by James Callis. Baltar not only is partially responsible for the eradication of the human race in the pilot episode, he does it to get a piece of Cylon ass. He also starts a cult and paints himself as a savior figure while building a harem of women he uses. He’s a total scumbag, and even though he (sort of) redeems himself by the series finale, he definitely caused much grief for the run of the show.
President Will Cooper
“It’s just a barrel. How bad can it hurt?”
Kevin James as a president is horrifying enough, but as Will Cooper in the movie Pixels, it’s just extra bad. It’s played for laughs, but he is obviously inept at his job. And yeah he helps save the day with Adam Sandler, but do we really want an everyday slob as the Prez? A guy whose claim to fame is being good at video games. I know a bunch of guys with that qualification, and as much as I like them, they would not get my vote on Election Day. And Pixels is just a flat out terrible movie, so pretty much EVERY character stinks.
President Camacho
“Shit. I know shit’s bad right now, with all that starving bullshit, and the dust storms, and we are running out of french fries and burrito coverings. But I got a solution.”
Idiocracy now seems like a vision from the true future and not a sadly overlooked movie. As played by Terry Crews, the character President Camacho is hysterical, but only because someone like that could never truly be president. Right? Anyway, Camacho is a ridiculous character in an equally ridiculous movie that makes us laugh at how much America and its leaders degrade. Good thing it’s all a farce and in no way a reflection of what could ever really happen.
So there you have it citizens, five guys that would have been horrible choices on any ballot. Who else do you think was a horrible fictitious president. Comment and discuss below. I’d love to read some of your ideas.
