The State of the Union address is scheduled, and most will be comparing the Biden presidency to previous ones.
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But how does President Joe Biden compare to President Mackenzie Allen? Don’t you recall the first female presidency? No? Maybe because it was fake. The role was played by Geena Davis in the ABC political drama Commander in Chief. The series ran from September 2005-June 2006.
There have been many fake presidencies over the years in the movies and on TV. These are some of the most notable imaginary presidencies. Too bad some of the make-believe presidents are better than the real ones.
1. Martin Sheen as Josiah ‘Jed’ Bartlet
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Martin Sheen played Democratic President Josiah “Jed” Bartlet in Aaron Sorkin’s The West Wing. The series began one year into the Bartlet presidency and lasted for seven seasons, ending with his successor getting elected and taking office.
2. Harrison Ford as James Marshall
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Harrison Ford kicked terrorist tail as James Marshall, a president forced to take matters into his own hands when his plane comes under attack by Russian terrorists, in Air Force One.
3. Michael Douglas as Andrew Shepard
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Michael Douglas starred as Andrew Shepard in The American President, a comedy-drama that featured a real rarity in the Oval Office: an unmarried president. Shepard was a widower learning about the limitations of the office on his dating life as he tried to woo a lobbyist, played by Annette Bening, while also passing a controversial crime bill.
4. Morgan Freeman as Tom Beck
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Morgan Freeman played fictional President Tom Beck in the 1998 sci-fi drama Deep Impact. The story centers around a deadly comet headed toward Earth and how the U.S. government and a few brave citizens attempt to save humanity.
5. Dennis Haysbert as David Palmer
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Dennis Haysbert played David Palmer in five seasons of Fox’s action thriller series 24. Calm, resourceful, and dedicated, Palmer was a former Maryland senator who survived an assassination attempt on the day of the California primary, but only served one term in office. He was forced to bow out of the race after being caught lying to police to protect his wife. He was later assassinated by a sniper.
6. Billy Bob Thorton as The President
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Billy Bob Thornton plays the not-so-sweet American president who makes a pass at a secretary while visiting the British Prime Minister (Hugh Grant) in the comedy Love Actually.
7. Jack Nicholson as James Dale
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Despite meeting with his closest advisors and chalking up the alien invasion to a misunderstanding, President James Dale still got shot with a ray gun in Mars Attacks.
8. Kevin Kline as Dave Kovic
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President William Mitchell suffers a stroke after cheating on his wife and Dave Kovic who is a presidential impersonator becomes a fake, fake president in Dave.
9. Bill Pullman as Thomas J. Whitmore
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With a calm, capable, Pullman-like demeanor, the man delivers a speech that boosts support for a military mission that could’ve easily ended in global disaster. “Today is your Independance Day!”
10. John Travolta as Jack Stanton
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Primary Colors starred John Travolta as Jack Stanton, an ambitious governor running for the presidency. Stanton was an amalgamation of a number of U.S. presidents but based mainly on Bill Clinton and his presidential campaign in 1991.
Honorable Mention goes to Tim Robbins who played an unnamed President in Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged me
