The Top 10 Best Movie Presidents

5. President Jackson Evans- The Contender

There’s a fine line between showing strength and being an idiot. Luckily, President Jackson Evans (Jeff Bridges) knows exactly where that line lies. When his Vice-President dies suddenly, he’s faced with the challenge of finding a replacement he can trust to stand beside him as he finishes out his second term. His pick is Laine Billings Hanson (Joan Allen), who is quickly attacked for being “unqualified” (aka a woman). Opposing senators dig into her past and dig up an old photo of her in a compromising position at a sorority initiation (considering what goes on in fraternities, I don’t think that’s a path many senators want to go down). Flexing their sense of moral superiority, they launch a smear campaign to pressure Evans into dropping the nomination. In the end, he not refuses to be pressured by those willing to fight dirty but proves that he can beat them at their own game. His strength of character is what makes him one of the best movie Presidents of all time. 

4. President James Marshall- Air Force One

Obviously, if a character is going to be featured on this list of the best movie Presidents, they have to be good in a crisis. But giving orders is one thing, and taking things into your own hands is completely different. Harrison Ford plays James Marshall, another movie President who found himself kidnapped by terrorists. Unlike President Asher, though, Marshall doesn’t need anyone to come to his rescue. Instead, he decides to save himself (and his family) by punching terrorists right in their radicalized pie holes. Pretty soon the bad guys realize that he’s not trapped in Air Force One with them, they’re trapped inside with him! Despite their best efforts, Marshall humiliates them all and saves the day by landing the presidential plane himself. I might not know his stance on trade embargos or how he feels about immigration, but I know that he’s got a pretty strong anti-terrorism stance.

3. President Andrew Shepherd- The American President

Can you imagine what it would be like to be a single President? Would they have Tinder on their encrypted cell phone? Does the Secret Service stand at the door when you’re just trying to Netflix and Chill with a potential future first lady? Michael Douglas might not face these exact problems as President Shepard, but it’s still not exactly a cakewalk for him once he catches a bad case of “feels” for an environmental lobbyist. What makes Shepard worthy to be in the top three best movie Presidents of all time is the fact that he sticks to his convictions. He might make mistakes at first, but he’s willing to set things right no matter what the cost might be to him. He’s a man who puts what’s best for the country, ahead of what might be best for him and that makes Shepard everything we could ever hope for in a President. Here’s hoping that we’ll have a candidate with half his decency and moral fortitude.

2. “President” Dave Kovic- Dave

I figure Dave here makes up for the previous tie between President Douglas and President Kramer. Kevin Kline plays a look-alike hired to stand in for the President after a medical emergency leaves him in a vegetative state. Certain forces conspire to keep power from the vice-president and hire Dave to impersonate him for the time being. While he might be a puppet at first, Dave slowly realizes all the good he can do while standing in as Commander-in-Chief. Not only that but the public seems to like him a whole hell of a lot more than the one previous brain dead one (literally and figuratively). It just goes to show that the problem isn’t necessarily with the people running for office, but with the political process that slowly corrupts them. Dave is just an everyday guy who wants to use the incredible opportunity he’s given to help make the world a better place. Because of that, he’s got my vote if he ever decided to actually run for President one day.

1. President Thomas J. Whitmore- Independence Day and Independence Day: Resurgence

Bill Pullman (not to be confused with Bill Paxton) plays the best movie President of all time. Like President Lindberg and President Dale, he happens to be in office when evil extraterrestrials come-a-knocking on his door. With the whole world under siege by evil aliens, Whitmore rallies the entire planet to stand together and launch a final counterattack against this invading menace. His speech still gives me chills whenever I watch it. However, even after giving one hell of a speech, he’s not content to sit in a bunker hoping that someone else will save the day. Instead, even after everything he’s personally lost, he hops in a jet and set out to attack the aliens head-on. He’s a full-blown hero, and you’d have to be an idiot not to vote for him after he helps save the entire planet. If only we could have someone like Whitmore on the ballot in the future. 

Honorable Mention: President Dwayne Elizondo Mountain Dew Herbert Camacho- Idiocracy

Haha, imagine a President as ridiculous at Comacho! The whole country electing a celebrity rather than a qualified politician! Imagine some guy who verbally abuses anyone who disagrees with him! It’s totally absurd, right?… Right?

When Idiocracy first came out and Terry Crews appeared as President Comacho firing his guns into the air and challenging anyone who looked at him funny to fight, the whole thing was pretty absurd. The thing is that the former football player’s comedic performance doesn’t feel quite so absurd these days. Still, at least he’s willing to listen to the “smart guy” with common sense (unlike most elected officials these days), so I have to give President Comacho some credit and a shout-out.

Shout-Out: President Joseph Staton- American Dreamz

I’m not here to talk about the best President movies. However, despite how not good American Dreamz was, I still feel like I should get a shout-out to Dennis Quaid’s President Staton. One day, he wakes up and decides to actually read a newspaper rather than the briefing report he’s handed every morning. Upon seeing just how screwed up the world really is, he reevaluates his entire stance on, well, everything. It sounds dumb, but think about it for a second. A commander-in-chief who actually changes his mind when he’s given new information. A man who can step back and think, “hey, maybe I was wrong and I need to change the way things are being done.” This might seem like an obvious trait for the President to have, but recently I’ve come to believe that it might not be a common one.

Those are candidates that get my vote for the best movie Presidents of all time. There are dozens of others though, so if you can think of any other characters that deserve to stand among these other Presidents, be sure to leave a comment below. As always, be sure to check back from time to time, because I’m always updating the lists around here and as more movie Presidents appear on the big screen, I’m sure there will be plenty of changes. Until next time, remember that it doesn’t matter who you vote for, just get out there and vote!